RIGA, June 27 (Xinhua) -- Polish President Andrzej Duda, who was in Latvia on an official visit, met with Latvia's top officials on Wednesday to discuss cooperation, local media reported.
The Polish leader is visiting Latvia to mark the centenary of the Baltic country's independence, while Poland too is marking the 100th anniversary of its independence this year.
Speaking at a joint news conference that followed their meeting in Riga Castle, both Latvian President Raimonds Vejonis and Duda declared that Latvia and Poland are united as NATO members and also in their demands concerning the European Union's (EU) next multiannual budget.
The two presidents indicated that neither Latvia nor Poland can accept the European Commission's proposal to save the bloc's budget costs by slashing funding to development projects and farming subsidies.
Vejonis told reporters that cutting cohesion funding would make it harder for new EU members like Latvia and Poland to catch up with the EU's average life standards and that Latvia and Poland expect farming subsidies to ensure equal competition conditions for farmers in all member states. "This means equal direct payments for the farmers in all EU member states," Vejonis said.
Latvia and Poland also have similar interests when it comes to Brexit-related issues as the UK is home to sizable Latvian and Polish communities. It is therefore important for both countries to ensure that their expats' rights are respected after the UK leaves the EU.
The talks also focused on regional infrastructure projects like Rail Baltica railway line and Via Baltica highway, as well as the diversification of energy sources in the region.
Officials of both countries agreed that defense is an important area of Latvian-Polish cooperation. Polish soldiers are among the NATO troops currently stationed in Latvia, and Poland also takes part in the NATO-led airspace policing mission in the Baltics.
