Agriculture Minister: Farmer-centered policy needed in Europe

Speaking at a panel discussion on the subject, Nagy said that unless farmers were made the focal point of agricultural policy, Europe was running the risk of losing its competitiveness, “vision of the future”, and food security.

The Hungarian presidency of the EU Council, he said, provided an excellent opportunity to “raise our voices”, as the presidency’s priorities include building a crisis-proof, competitive, sustainable, knowledge-based and farmer-centric European agriculture, he said.

Recent farmers’ protests have shown European citizens that the EU farm policy was being “ruined” by a host of regulations imposed on EU producers, even as Ukrainian produce was allowed into the bloc unimpeded, he said.

The minister said that measures to simplify policy have started, “a step back from the utterly unrealistic objectives hobbling European agriculture”. As the EU’s new administration has yet to be set up, agriculture ministers now have the chance to make proposals to the incoming European Commission, he said.