PM's Political Director: We won't let Ukraine ruin Hungarian farmers
According to MTI, Orbán said negotiations between Ukraine and the European Commission on a free trade agreement had reached 'a dangerous phase'. 'Brussels has reached a theoretical agreement with Kyiv on reviewing the 2016 free trade agreement, saying that would bring long-term mutual benefits for farmers, among other players,' he said.
'In reality, this plan is actively harmful to Hungarian farmers. Ukrainian agricultural produce would be dumped on EU markets without having to comply with strict EU regulations,' he insisted.
Imports of sugar, wheat, poultry, eggs, sweetcorn and honey would grow drastically, he said. He said butter, milk powder, malt, oat, gluten and livestock feed would be allowed in with 'extremely high quotas', while 'there would be no limit on the amount of full-fat milk powder, fermented milk, mushrooms and grape juice brought into the EU.'
While Hungarian farmers must comply with regulations on animal health, environmental protection and quality, Ukraine, he said, had only committed to taking those norms over by 2028, 'if they comply at all'. 'What happens if Ukraine doesn't comply with EU regulations? The way things look, nothing — there are no sanctions associated with violating the regulations,' he said.
The plan would put farmers in the EU at a 'brutal competitive disadvantage', he said. 'Brussels definitely wants to favour Ukraine' as part of a strategy aiming to gradually integrate Ukraine into the EU, and then have it join the bloc, he said.
Central European countries, including Poland, were 'outraged' by the plan, he said, 'so there is hope for joint action on the international stage,' Orbán said.
Meanwhile, he said the Hungarian government was fighting alone on the domestic front. 'The opposition, headed by the Tisza party, is working on the EU integration of Ukraine. Tisza's agriculture expert recently suggested at a town hall meeting that Hungarian farmers should prepare for cheap Ukrainian products flooding the EU market,' he said.
The Hungarian government maintains a national ban on Ukrainian agricultural produce, he said. 'We have also made it clear that only produce that complies with EU regulations may enter the market… Until that happens, they have no place on the Hungarian market,' Orbán said.
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