Hungary insists on maintaining level of EU farm subsidies, says minister

Hungary will stick to its position that Brussels should maintain the current level of farm subsidies under the new common agriculture policy (CAP) in the post-Brexit period, the farm minister said on Wednesday.

Hungary will reject plans that would require European Union member states to offset any farm subsidy cuts by increasing their own domestic central funding, Sándor Fazekas told public television.

Fazekas said that due to Brexit, farm subsidies were not likely to be increased after 2019, adding that Hungary would be willing to increase its own contribution to the common budget by up to 20 percent to ensure that Brussels maintains the level of farm subsidies after Brexit.

A decision on the new CAP arrangement is expected no later than May, Fazekas said, calling negotiations on the policy over next few months vitally important.

Hungary’s interests lie in a simpler CAP that maintains the current level of EU subsidies for Hungarian farmers, he said.

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Source: MTI