Hungary has proposed that the European Commission consider the possibility of allowing advance payments from this year's area-based EU agriculture funds in view of flood damage, Minister for Rural Development Sándor Fazekas stated in the recess of a meeting of EU agriculture ministers in Luxembourg.

According to the Minister, the flood has caused significant damage to agriculture in several countries and so he has proposed that farmers have access to half of their area-based funding starting from 15 October of this year, which would amount to some 30-35 thousand forints per hectare.

Minister Fazekas pointed out that similar advance payments had been made on other occasions with relation to flood and drought damage. Sándor Fazekas told the press that several countries had supported the proposal.
"I hope that Hungarian efforts will be successful and we will do everything possible in the interests of farmers so they find themselves in a favourable position", the Minister stressed.

Mr. Fazekas also informed Hungarian news agency MTI that the agriculture ministers had also discussed the reform of the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). In the Minister's words, negotiations have been going on well into the night for days on the subject. In Minister Fazekas's opinion, the council of agriculture ministers of the member states and representatives of the European Parliament may be close to reaching an agreement on the restructuring of the Common Agricultural Policy.

(Ministry of Rural Development)