Csaba Domotor: EU to Divert Farmers’ Funds to Ukraine—That’s a Stark Fact, Not a Claim

As previously reported, Brussels is once again threatening European agriculture with severe funding cuts. Csaba Domotor has warned that the EU’s proposed budget drastically reduces support for the Common Agricultural Policy while providing a record €100 billion in aid to Ukraine. This plan would particularly impact Hungarian farmers, whose livelihoods depend on area-based subsidies. The Fidesz MEP explains the details in an interview to Magyar Nemzet.

Dömötör Csaba Forrás: Facebook

According to the proposal submitted by Brussels, €88–100 billion from the EU budget would be allocated to Ukraine, while up to €84 billion would be cut from the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) budget. How do you envision protecting Hungarian agriculture if other member states do not stand up for their farmers as Hungary does?

We are not alone in this matter; there is widespread outrage throughout the European farming community. This was evident from the large turnout at the farmers’ protest in Brussels. 

Farmers and their advocate organizations came from all over Europe, and a lot of irate speeches could be heard. They have every reason to be upset, as the new budget plans would reduce agricultural subsidies by an amount equivalent to 33 trillion forints (approx. €84 billion). 

At the same time, they plan to give 40 trillion forints (approx. €100 billion) to Ukraine. Based on this, saying that the farmers’ money is being handed over to Ukraine is not a mere claim but a cold, hard fact. What Ursula von der Leyen and her team have put on the table is outrageously untenable.

MEP Csaba Domotor (Photo: MTI)

What new alliances or coalitions do you see forming in Brussels to protect agriculture?

After the aforementioned protest, we rushed back to the agriculture committee meeting, where the commissioner for agriculture presented the new plans in detail. I have never attended such a tense meeting. The outrage extended well beyond our faction, which leads me to believe that the rejection will be much broader.

Many MEPs and governments now have to explain to the people in their countries how it is possible that they are planning to cut agricultural subsidies by at least 20%. Now that the figures are out, they must face their citizens.

It is also clear that there is a significant amount of hypocrisy involved. Those grand coalition MEPs—socialists and members of Weber’s European People’s Party (EPP)—who are now criticizing the plan, were lined up just a week ago voting in support of Ursula von der Leyen. They are therefore responsible for this situation, as is the Tisza Party. The Patriots for Europe group was the only one that opposed these planned cuts from the very beginning, even within the agriculture committee.

In your statement, you mentioned that green regulations put small Hungarian farms at a competitive disadvantage. Do you have any estimates on how much the costs for an average family farm would increase, whether as a one-off  or recurring expense, to comply with the strict regulations?

We do not yet have exact figures, but we do know the guiding principles. They make no secret of the fact that the payment of certain subsidies will be tied to meeting new green requirements. All of this while farmers have already been complaining about excessive regulations and bureaucratic hurdles. To make matters worse, non-EU countries do not and will not have such rules to follow, which creates a competitive disadvantage for our farmers.

The lifting of restrictions on Ukrainian agricultural products and the Mercosur agreement creates new import pressure. How can it be ensured that Hungarian producers do not fall into a price competition disadvantage within the EU market?

 If necessary, through restrictive measures. In 2022, the Commission fully liberalized EU–Ukraine agricultural trade. This caused massive income losses in our region, which is why the Hungarian and Polish governments banned imports from the neighboring country. They now want to override this with a quota-based free trade agreement.

It says everything about the procedure that while Ursula von der Leyen announced the EU–Ukraine agreement, MEPs did not even have access to the basic figures. According to the information we have received, they plan to allow significantly more grain, honey and corn imports from Ukraine.

Once again, they are ignoring the consequences. It is also relevant that the vast majority of Ukrainian farmland is owned by Western European and American giant corporations and investment funds. So, it is a massively lucrative business for some. The scandalous equation looks like this: within the EU, they are cutting subsidies even for medium-sized family farms, while opening the market to products from producers in Ukraine, some of which operate on hundreds of thousands of hectares. If this is not a blatant betrayal of farmers, then what is? We will fight these plans at every negotiating table—in the European Parliament, in the Council, on land, water, and in the air.

You called Tisza Party chief Peter Magyar an “accomplice” in this budget plan. Do you expect there to be any political consequences for him after he, as you put it, denied the relevant decisions and avoided committee meetings?

These budget plans were put forward by Ursula von der Leyen, who comes from the same European People’s Party (EPP) that Peter Magyar's Tisza is a member, as is the Agriculture Commissioner Christophe Hansen from Luxembourg. EPP representatives not only supported von der Leyen last summer, but also last autumn and even a week ago. These plans were already known then, so they are extremely complicit.

So is the Tisza party and Peter Magyar himself. He is a member of the agriculture committee. At first, he flatly denied that anyone wanted to cut agricultural subsidies. Then, when this claim became untenable, he started avoiding the committee meetings.

During the last week in Strasbourg, we voted in the committee on a resolution about the future of the Common Agricultural Policy. He again was not there. Others voted in his place—those who support von der Leyen’s budget.

Hungarian farmers should be aware: when Peter Magyar should be standing up for them, he is off paddling on a river while his Brussels supporters do the dirty work. No number of staged, posing photos and selfies will cover that up.

Cover photo: Csaba Domotor, Fidesz MEP (Source: Facebook / Csaba Domotor)