The agricultural reform proposals made public by the European Commission last week rely heavily on the recommendations put forward regarding the issue by the Hungarian EU Presidency during its six months in office – said Sándor Fazekas at the press conference held in Luxembourg following the meeting of European Union Agriculture Ministers.

The Minister for Rural Development added, the member states have differing views on the issues included in the reform package, so several items included in the Brussels proposals will need to be modified and amended. In his view, long discussions await the Council of Ministers before a consensus is achieved. During the course of the debate, which was broadcast live on the Internet, several speakers praised the efforts of the Hungarian Presidency, and those of the current, Polish Presidency.

Hungary remains one of those countries whose members are committed to a strong Common European Agricultural Policy and an efficient food supply – stated the Minister form Hungary.

In Luxembourg, Sándor Fazekas also met with his French counterpart, Bruno Le Maire, with whom, among other things, they agreed to step up together to retain current levels of agricultural support.

When presenting the Hungarian standpoint on the issue, Sándor Fazekas emphasised the importance of the fact that the level of agricultural support should remain the same in the future, and that farmers should not receive less support, than they are currently receiving. He stressed the importance of simplifying regulations and indicated that Hungary had a firm standpoint with regard to several proposals for the reform of the sector.

Taking the floor during the debate, the Minister agreed with the European Commission wit regard to the idea that only active farmers who actually perform agricultural activities should be eligible to receive support. He also welcomed the fact that the proposals place special emphasis on the state of young farmers and small-scale farms, making it possible for the EU to turn more funds towards supporting them.

Sándor Fazekas also expressed how important it was that ten percent of direct support payments could be passed on to farmers in conjunction with production, meaning that "there is still an opportunity to support the more sensitive sectors". However, he added, these measures must be flexible, and member states must be allowed to take into account their national characteristics. With reference to the simplification of agricultural policy regulations, the Minister's opinion was that public opinion and acceptance of the whole EU sector fully depended on whether they would be capable of finding simple solutions. The current system is practically unintelligible to farmers, requiring a lot of money and attention – he explained.

In the Minister's opinion, the "green component" recommended in the Commission's proposals does not serve to make the system simpler or more cost-efficient. According to the Hungarian standpoint, the introduction of the new measures must not mean an increase in the burden borne by farmers. Simplification must also be apparent in the monitoring and marketing systems associated with rural development.

With reference to the distribution of rural development resources, Sándor Fazekas stressed that the application of objective criteria must not cause significant distortions; In the case of a redistribution of funds, Hungary in unable to accept a reduction in rural development resources.

Of the sector issues, Sándor Fazekas mentioned wine production, in connection with which Hungary does not support the termination of previously determined planting rights in 2015. If this were to happen, then countries with greater capital power and perhaps better geographical characteristics would being vine planting on a huge scale – he told the Hungarian news agency MTI. The advantage of the current planting system, besides the negative effects, is that it has moved viniculture in the direction of quality production.

With regard to the fruit and vegetable sector, Sándor Fazekas felt that the transfer of the regulation of production groups to the rural development category was not a good solution, because as a result, they would lose their individual innovation support, and the market regulation potential of the sector would also decrease. The Minister also reminded those present that in Hungary, the European Union reforms of 2006 had lead to the almost total liquidation of sugar production. Hungary does not support the planned termination of the sugar quota system in 2015, but would like to achieve increased production in order to become self-sufficient. Sándor Fazekas also mentioned that it is in Hungary's interests for export refund regulations to remain in place with regard to non-EU countries.

During the second item on the Luxembourg agenda, Ministers listened to a report on the implementation of the European Commission directive that bans the use of conventional poultry cages in favour of so-called enriched cages. In accordance with the new regulations, poultry farmers and egg producers may use only enriched cages (or better) from the beginning of next year.

Hungary has just launched a several billion Forint programme to help the transition to the new cages – Sándor Fazekas mentioned at the press conference, adding that new member states had "inherited" this directive, since it had been decided on prior to their having joined the Union.

He also drew attention to the fact that if sanctions are imposed on countries or producers who are late in complying with the new regulations, then it would pave the way for producers from outside the Union, who generally also don't use cages that comply to EU regulations.

(Press Office of the Ministry of Rural Development, MTI)