The Hungarian government is committed to the Common Agricultural Policy

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József Viski said that he was certain that there would be unforeseeable consequences for the competitiveness of farmers if the measures planned by the European Commission were implemented. The State Secretary also drew attention on the M1 current channel and in the Kossuth radio program Good morning, Hungary! that the European Commission had proposed to abolish the Common Agricultural Policy. He added that no one had asked the Commission to make such a proposal to the European institutions. He also recalled that during Hungary’s EU presidency, EU agricultural ministers unanimously agreed that an independent two-pillar agricultural policy was needed and that it should be preserved. In addition, members of the European Parliament also agreed that they supported the independence of the CAP. In contrast, the European Commission came up with a proposal 2-3 weeks ago that did not contain any hint that they wanted to plan for an autonomous two-pillar agricultural policy after 2028, he pointed out. According to the State Secretary, this proposal – the abolition of the CAP – is not in the Member States’ interest at all. He explained that a process of approximately 1-1.5 years will now follow, in which various bodies of the European Union, the Commission, the Council and the Member States will discuss the proposal. He added that their goal is to achieve by exerting political pressure on the institutions of the European Union that the independence of the CAP be maintained.

József Viski also touched on agricultural products coming from Ukraine

He pointed out that Ukraine produces at a volume that is capable of negatively affecting the competitiveness of EU agricultural enterprises, and that subsidies that could compensate for this are also being withdrawn from the member states and farmers. He stressed that the member states of the European Union must produce on the basis of strict environmental, animal health and plant health rules. This is important because Ukrainian products, mainly grain, honey and eggs, are flowing into the markets of the EU member states in huge quantities, while Ukraine is not subject to the production restrictions that apply to the EU member states. As a result, Ukraine can produce under uncontrolled conditions, without complying with various plant and animal health rules, which depresses prices and ruins Hungarian and EU producers – the State Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture stated on Kossuth Radio.

AM/MTI