
Nagy: Member states press Brussels to put European farmers' interests first
Agriculture Minister István Nagy said the agriculture ministers of European Union member states that share a border with Ukraine are pressing Brussels with a joint declaration to defend the interests of European farmers, on the initiative of Hungary.
In a Facebook post uploaded on Wednesday, Minister Nagy said the ministers were asking EU decision makers to protect local farmers from an 'unrestricted flood' of Ukrainian farm products.
He added that an agreement on a 'drastic' increase in quotas on sugar, poultry, eggs, wheat and honey from Ukraine, reached 'behind member states' backs', was 'unacceptable' and called on Brussels to introduce a regional protection mechanism for local farmers that could be automatically triggered.
The joint declaration signed in Budapest will be discussed at a meeting of EU agriculture ministers in Brussels on Monday, the Agriculture Ministry said in a statement.

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Budapest Times
10 hours ago
- Budapest Times
Nagy: Member states press Brussels to put European farmers' interests first
Minister Nagy said the ministers were asking EU decision makers to protect local farmers from an "unrestricted flood" of Ukrainian farm products. Agriculture Minister István Nagy said the agriculture ministers of European Union member states that share a border with Ukraine are pressing Brussels with a joint declaration to defend the interests of European farmers, on the initiative of Hungary. In a Facebook post uploaded on Wednesday, Minister Nagy said the ministers were asking EU decision makers to protect local farmers from an 'unrestricted flood' of Ukrainian farm products. He added that an agreement on a 'drastic' increase in quotas on sugar, poultry, eggs, wheat and honey from Ukraine, reached 'behind member states' backs', was 'unacceptable' and called on Brussels to introduce a regional protection mechanism for local farmers that could be automatically triggered. The joint declaration signed in Budapest will be discussed at a meeting of EU agriculture ministers in Brussels on Monday, the Agriculture Ministry said in a statement.


Budapest Times
2 days ago
- Budapest Times
Bóka: Péter Magyar's platform is being drafted in Brussels
Minister Bóka said Péter Magyar is helping foreign-funded civil groups to be given free rein to conduct political activities in Hungary. János Bóka, Hungary's EU affairs minister, said on Tuesday that another chapter has been added to opposition Tisza Party leader Péter Magyar's platform in Brussels in the form of the document entitled 'Rule-of-law Recommendations', adding that the document was 'nothing more than a politically-motivated order for Magyar'. In a post on Facebook, Minister Bóka said the aim of the recommendations was for 'foreign-funded so-called civil groups to be given free rein to conduct political activities in Hungary, for which they could receive an unlimited amount of foreign funding in an uncontrolled manner'. The minister said the aim was also for 'foreign-funded media' to receive public funding, and for 'smear campaigns against right-wing politicians and public figures to become an institutionalised practice based on the Polish model'. 'This is not about the protection of the rule of law, but about institutionalised political pressure,' he said. 'Brussels has also drafted Péter Magyar's economic policy programme in advance; these are the European Semester recommendations,' Minister Bóka said He said Brussels wanted to scrap Hungary's regulated utilities price scheme, the interest rate freeze and the mandatory caps on markups. Brussels also wanted Hungary to phase out home creation subsidies, scrap taxes on excessive corporate profits and tax refunds on diesel fuel for farmers, he added. 'The aim is to draft an economic policy that serves Brussels's expectations against the interests of the Hungarian people,' Minister Bóka said. He said Brussels had made it clear that 'Magyar can say whatever he wants in the campaign, but Ukraine has to be admitted to the European Union before 2030', regardless of what the European people may think about this and what consequences this may have for Europe. 'Magyar's platform is being drafted in Brussels,' Minister Bóka said. 'It goes by many names — recommendation, reform, report — but the essence is always the same: they want to control Hungary from Brussels through a puppet government.'


Budapest Times
3 days ago
- Budapest Times
Orbán: The Ukrainians' only remaining hope is to keep Europe engaged in the war
At the latest NATO summit, PM Orbán observed a dramatic shift: 'America is on the path of peace, and we are on the path of war.' He stressed that the European strategy, led by Germany, remains committed to a military victory in Ukraine, even as U.S. support wanes. The prime minister warned that this divergence means Europe will be left alone to face the war's financial, economic, and security consequences. He recalled his visit to Kyiv during Hungary's EU presidency, where he tried to propose a ceasefire. 'I told President Zelensky that time is not on his side. The Russians are gaining ground, and Europe is running out of resources.' His message was rejected. PM Orbán described Ukraine's leadership as driven by show rather than substance, and the continuation of the war as a strategic dead end. 'Ukraine cannot ask from us something that harms us and Europe,' he stated. 'This war cannot be won on the front line against a nuclear power.' He was equally blunt about the cost: 'Tens of billions of euros have already been burned without any rational, achievable path to victory.' As such, Hungary vetoed Ukraine's EU accession, warning that integrating a country at war would pull the entire Union into the conflict. While this halted the process, PM Orbán voiced concern over attempts in Brussels to bypass legal rules. 'Open legal violations now prevail,' he said, but in the end, he added, 'Hungary cannot be excluded.' The prime minister also criticized the EU's political culture, where member states increasingly obey Brussels without public consultation. 'There are three major issues in European politics today: migration, war, and gender. Hungary is the only country that asked its citizens about all three,' he emphasized, arguing that this democratic deficit has allowed bureaucratic governance to overtake national interest. PM Orbán connected this trend to Hungary's opposition, describing it as foreign-directed. 'They receive money and instructions from Brussels,' he claimed, warning that new political movements, especially those formed online, operate without accountability. These are not traditional parties, he said, but digital constructs built around commands and narratives, while political credibility must rest on human substance. Furthermore, Prime Minister Orbán declared, 'a party cannot be built on sin,' referring to opposition leader Péter Magyar secretly recording his wife. 'You cannot build on betrayal or treachery. Or if you do, it will fall apart.'