The government has adopted the Ministry of Rural Development's proposal on illegal land purchasing. The Minister of Rural Development promised swift and effective action regarding so-called pocket contracts.
At the Government spokesperson's press conference on Thursday, Sándor Fazekas stated that the Government had declared war on speculators: they have formed a committee to filter out suspect land purchase contracts.

The head of the Ministry of Rural Development said that the authorities and ministries concerned would cooperate and harmonise their actions to investigate all land purchase contracts that raise suspicion in any form. He added that to this end, the committee would be working on the elaboration of legal and technical instruments in the near future.

Sándor Fazekas said it was unacceptable that in a constitutional state someone should be able to purchase farmland with speculative intent. "Hungarian land" – as he put it – "must remain in the hands of Hungarian farmers."

The President of the Hungarian farmers' association MAGOSZ also took part in the press conference, and in relation to his meetings with Victor Orbán and Sándor Fazekas stated that they had discussed the results of the past two years of government measures relating to agriculture and the tasks ahead for the future.

István Jakab stated, they "had agreed that the state of agriculture had improved significantly recently, and that reforms are moving things in the right direction." "The most important future objectives for MAGOSZ is that the Hungarian agriculture sector should continue to gain strength, and that the quality of life in rural areas should improve", he added.

Government spokesman András Giró-Szász stated that since its formation, the government has maintained that agriculture is a strategic sector, and that the Hungarian economy is only secure if it can rely on a strong rural base; for this reason, the good name of agriculture must be restored, and the rural policy of previous governments must be reformed.

András Giró-Szász also reminded those present that the validation of national interests at EU-level is more resolute than in previous years, payments are occurring more rapidly; the government has supported and will continue to support family run farms.

(kormany.hu)