The European Commission would not only undermine the provisions of the Green Agreement, but would cause a decrease in agricultural production, which could lead to a drastic increase in food prices.

The population and farmers cannot be made to pay the price for the implementation of the EU's green goals. With the implementation of the new green requirements introduced with the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), agriculture will contribute to the green transition to an adequate extent, said Minister of Agriculture István Nagy at the meeting of the EU Council for Agriculture and Fisheries in Luxembourg. According to the announcement of the Ministry of Agriculture, which was sent to MTI.

According to the announcement, István Nagy added that by imposing the mandatory, numerical and immediate targets of the Green Agreement, the European Commission would not only violate the political agreement reached on the CAP reform, but would also cause a decrease in agricultural production, which could lead to a drastic increase in food prices. The price of implementing the EU's green goals cannot be made to pay by the population and farmers, the minister emphasized.

It is beyond dispute that agriculture and farmers must also contribute to the achievement of climate protection goals, but the right balance must be found between environmental and competitiveness aspects. The political agreement on CAP reform reached this balance in June this year, said the Hungarian minister.

With the support of the overwhelming majority of the ministers of agriculture, it was included in the agreement that only the requirements contained in EU legislation can be taken into account when adopting the strategic plans of the Member States' CAP. Compared to this, the committee now wants to impose on the member states the ambitious numerical objectives contained in the Farmland to Table and Biodiversity strategies in an executive decree. For now, these are not included in any EU legislation, and the expected effects have not been investigated. Recently, several unofficial impact studies have come to light, which confirm that the implementation of the strategies would have serious economic consequences: it would lead to a decrease in production and a drastic increase in food prices. With this, Brussels would make the population and farmers pay the price of the green transition, said István Nagy.

According to the announcement, the minister emphasized that social support is essential for the success of a life-like green transition, but this can only be imagined if food prices do not rise, the food supply remains continuously secured and farmers are not disabled.

Agriculture will contribute to the achievement of the goals set out in the Green Agreement, but this must be done in accordance with EU legislation. Within the framework of the CAP until 2027, the goals to be achieved by 2030 cannot be taken into account in their entirety, and this is exactly what the Commission would propose. By implementing the newly introduced basic agro-ecological program, the green requirements for the basic support and the existing environmental and climate protection measures in rural development, agriculture will contribute to the green transition to an appropriate extent, the Minister of Agriculture emphasized, according to the statement of the Ministry of Agriculture.

MTI

Photo: MTI