Speaking to Hungarian journalists on Thursday, Csaba Domotor stressed that based on the published figures, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) budget would be cut by €84 billion, equivalent to over 33 trillion forints.
Meanwhile, and this was confirmed in writing, €100 billion would be allocated to Ukraine, which equals 40 trillion forints,
he said.
The MEP stated that there are “further brutal details” since, as he emphasized, direct area-based payments will certainly be limited, and not everyone will receive the amounts they have received so far. He reminded that this form of support alone provides income security for 150,000 Hungarian families. He also noted that existing agricultural funds would be merged with other funds, an attempt to mask the fact that support amounts are decreasing.
Furthermore, farmers will only be able to access certain subsidies if they comply with new green regulations, he said. This will mean additional bureaucracy and a competitive disadvantage, as farmers in major non-EU producer countries are not required to meet such standards, he explained.
The situation is further worsened by previous Brussels decisions, which have already significantly reduced the value of agricultural subsidies,
Domotor said, explaining that due to sanctions against Russia and the Green Deal, energy prices have skyrocketed and remained high, driving up inflation and the costs of transport, machinery operation and irrigation. "Taking all this into account, if the proposed plans are implemented, it would mean that the value of agricultural subsidies would in practice drop to half within a few years," he stated.
An aggravating circumstance of this assassination attempt is that the European Commission wants to dismantle the agricultural support system precisely at a time when farmers need it the most,
he said.
In addition to inflation and severe drought, Brussels increasingly wants to open EU markets further: alongside the Mercosur agreement, it has made a deal with Ukraine as well, allowing even more agricultural products to flood EU markets from Ukraine and South America.
What is this if not the open betrayal of farmers?
the politician posed the question.