Hungary’s agriculture chamber afraid farmers will lose funds if Ukraine joins EU

The head of Hungary’s agriculture chamber (NAK), attending a protest organised by the COPA-COGECA agricultural umbrella organisations in Brussels on Tuesday, said the common agricultural policy (CAP) worth one third of the EU budget would be compromised if Ukraine joined the EU, with farmers standing to lose around a quarter of their funds, or 400 billion euros.

Referring to leaked European Commission plans on merging the CAP budget into a so-called super fund, NAK head Zsolt György Papp called for investment subsidies to remain area-based and for markets to be protected against free trade agreements such as Mercosur and produce entering the EU from Ukraine.

He said subsidies available to European farmers were tied to strict rules governing food safety. The NAK head said 70 agricultural organisations operate in the EU, and all were committed to protecting the interests of European farmers.

He said peacefully protesting farmers wanted a voice in decision-making. “But if this doesn’t happen, we’re ready to act more decisively,” he warned, noting that farmers in many European countries had in the past taken to the streets to protect their interests.