Farmers in Czech mountains fear bankruptcy after EU entry

According to Czech regional daily Deniky Bohemia, farmers in mountainous regions of the Czech Republic fear they might go bankrupt after the Czech Republic joins the EU.

According to Czech regional daily Deniky Bohemia, farmers in mountainous regions of the Czech Republic fear they might go bankrupt after the Czech Republic joins the EU. The reason is the European Commission's conditions limiting the number of sheep to 44,000, while Czech farmers require 130,000 animals. Sheep and beef cattle are the main source of income of farms in mountainous regions, where there are bad conditions for growing crops.

Apart from low quotas, Czech farmers will get substantially lower subsidies from EU funds than their EU counterparts. The head of the Czech Agricultural Business Association, Jaroslav Brom, was quoted as saying that many farmers are likely to abandon their farms and move away from the border areas.