Latest news with #CsabaDömötör
Budapest Times
04-07-2025
- Business
- Budapest Times
MEP: EC's agricultural trade deal with Ukraine will have ‘serious consequences' for Hungarian farmers
Csaba Dömötör, an MEP of ruling Fidesz, said in Brussels on Wednesday that the European Commission's agricultural trade deal with Ukraine will have 'serious consequences' for Hungarian farmers. Speaking to Hungarian reporters, Dömötör said that under the deal, the EU and Hungary would have to allow larger quantities of Ukrainian grain, chicken, eggs, honey and other agricultural products onto their markets. The agreement, Dömötör said, was explicitly aimed at preparing Ukraine's full-fledged EU membership, setting quotas for how much of each agricultural product has to be allowed customs-free entry onto EU markets. Although the exact quotas have yet to be revealed, the new agreement allows for the entry of significantly more grain, chicken, eggs, honey and other products, compared with the previous free trade deal, the MEP said. 'This will have significant consequences for Hungarian farmers,' he added. Whereas the EU has said that Ukraine had to adopt certain EU regulations, 'anonymous EU bureaucrats have admitted that no one will be sent to Ukraine in order to verify that this happens', Domotor said. He said the reason why was a key issue because, according to the Farm Europe think-tank, there are currently at least 68 kinds of pesticides used in Ukraine banned in the EU. Also, instead of helping Ukrainian small farmers, the deal would favour large agricultural holding companies, most of which are under Western European and American ownership, he said. 'They get the business opportunities, but the consequences will have to be borne by European and Hungarian farmers,' Dömötör said. 'That's what the plan looks like, but they'd better not expect us to like it.' Dömötör said Hungarian farmers had already experienced what it was like when the European Commission opened the EU markets to Ukrainian grain products in 2022, which caused 'a massive shock' in the central and eastern European region. The Hungarian government therefore introduced a ban on imports of Ukrainian agricultural products, he said, adding, however, that this new trade deal would override Hungary's ban and for the country to open up its markets. 'It's unacceptable that the European Commission is signing agreements over the heads of Hungarian farmers at their expense, 'Dömötör said.
Budapest Times
24-06-2025
- Politics
- Budapest Times
Fidesz MEP: Brussels pressing ahead with Ukrainian enlargement while ignoring views of EU member states
Fidesz MEP Csaba Dömötör said in a radio interview on Sunday that Brussels was pressing ahead with Ukrainian enlargement while ignoring the views of EU member states on the matter, and the government's Vote 2025 public survey gave a strong response to this. Noting this week that a European commissioner told MEPs legal moves were underway to curb the possibility of vetoes, Dömötör told public radio it would now become clear whether or not Hungarians would have a say in Ukraine's EU accession. Hungary's opposition to the decision should be taken into account, but it may not be, he warned. Unanimity had been a requirement in enlargement procedures up to now, he said, adding that determining a candidate country's suitability had rested on detailed negotiations. Bypassing the rule on unanimity and ignoring critical voices was not entirely new, he said, mentioning passage of the migration pact as an example. Disputes with Brussels were over sovereignty, the Fidesz MEP said, arguing that Brussels wanted to take matters related to tax, migration and war out of the hands of member states and switch to qualified majority voting. This is also the case of EU enlargement, he added. Not a word had been uttered about the 'drastic' economic consequences of Ukraine's enlargement, he said. An EP study shows that cohesion and farm subsidies may shrink by 24 percent and 15 percent, respectively, he said, adding that the enlargement commissioner confirmed that some markets may be opened to Ukraine even before it becomes a full member. 'This isn't some abstract foreign policy debate, but a matter affecting everyday livelihoods,' Dömötör said. Meanwhile, a ban on Russian energy imports would drastically increase household utility bills, he said, adding that the issue was about how alternative energy sources were dearer than Russian supplies rather than about showing sympathy for Russia. Dömötör was asked to explain the statement that the Tisza Party supported Ukraine's accession when European People's Party leader Manfred Weber wrote in a letter to Tisza's leader, Peter Magyar, that he respected Tisza's position against fast-tracking Ukraine into the EU. Tisza, he said, 'has a document stating that it supports accession', and he referred to the party's public survey indicating that 58 percent of Tisza respondents backed Ukraine's EU aspiration. He also said that membership of the European People's Party group in the EP required supporting Ukraine's fast-tracked accession, noting that Tisza is a member of the group. Dömötör insisted that Weber's letter was 'a transparent attempt' to mislead people, arguing that a Tisza official recently told a Polish television station that the party's Ukraine policy would be 'different from the government's'.
Budapest Times
23-06-2025
- Politics
- Budapest Times
MEP: Commission to use legal means to stifle dissenting voices against Ukraine's accession to EU
Fidesz MEP Csaba Dömötör said the European Commission made it clear at the European Parliament's plenary session on Thursday that they are planning to 'use legal means to stifle dissenting voices' against Ukraine's accession to the European Union. Speaking to Hungarian journalists after the EP debate on EU enlargement in Strasbourg, Dömötör said that a European commissioner had told the plenary session that they were working to scrap the requirement of unanimity for the decision. 'They want to sweep the reservations, opinion, and will … of Hungarians off the table,' Dömötör said, adding that the strongest answer was a large turnout at the Vote 2025 referendum on the matter. He said the EP and EC 'campaign for Ukraine's accession is running on overdrive', and they were handling the accession as a given. He said they wanted to conclude the membership procedure in this cycle, by 2029, and were preparing to open all chapters of negotiation this year. 'Earlier, the enlargement commissioner said that there were 1,000 people working exclusively on this in the EC, and that they would open certain markets for Ukraine before it had become a full member,' he said. 'Meanwhile, they are refusing to debate the costs of all this or the degree to which cohesion funding would shrink,' he said, adding that 'the relevant EP committee' had calculated that cohesion subsidies for current member states would fall by 24 percent and farm subsidies by at least 15 percent. 'Absurdly, they think that Ukraine's membership is a guarantee of European security, even though this is a country at war,' he said. Meanwhile, there was no talk of securing the rights of minorities, he said, 'even as the European Parliament holds [countries] accountable for ensuring fundamental rights day and night.' 'What they are forcing through will not only have an impact on the safety of everyday life but will also bring the already ailing European economy to its knees,' he said. Meanwhile, Dömötör said the head of the opposition Tisza party's delegation had told a Polish TV channel that the party was striving for a different Ukraine policy from that of the Hungarian government, 'and that they will take part in whatever needs to be done'. 'This means that at home they are denying … [the fact that] unconditional support for Ukraine is a membership requirement for … the European People's Party. So it is no surprise that the Tisza group leader has said the referendum in Hungary is useless,' Dömötör said. 'Whatever the case, the strongest reply to these plans is a large turnout at the referendum,' he added.
Budapest Times
16-06-2025
- Business
- Budapest Times
MEP: Brussels is once again demanding that Hungary scrap its utility price caps scheme
Csaba Dömötör, an MEP of the ruling Fidesz, said in Brussels on Wednesday that Brussels 'is once again demanding that Hungary scrap its utility price caps scheme'. According to MTI , Dömötör said the European Commission had published its 'economic demands' addressed to Hungary on June 4, 'dubbed country-specific recommendations in Brussels speak', and 'everything included in it would be harmful for Hungarian families'. In addition to scrapping the scheme capping utility bills, Brussels demands that Hungary wean itself off eastern energy sources, 'without mentioning who should pay the higher fees that would result from energy being acquired from other sources', Domotor said. 'They don't say anything because they know that it would be Hungarian families,' he added. Dömötör said the EC had yielded to the lobby of multinationals and demanded that Hungary withdraw sectoral taxes, discontinuing the current principle that multinationals accumulating extra profits should take their part in sharing burdens. The EC recommendation also includes the scrapping of interest rate caps, he said, adding that if Hungary were to do this, the instalments would significantly increase. 'Additionally, they demand that the government cut home creation support, but they say nothing about how families should be helped instead in acquiring a home,' he said. Dömötör said the EC and the 'grand coalition of the European People's Party and the left' wanted member states to pay the amount spent on the war and wanted to make room for the costs of Ukraine's accession. 'All of this in a way to ensure that corporations with strong lobbying power also profit from it,' he added. He said the opposition Tisza Party was a part of 'Brussels's policy of tributes, not only because they sit in the same party with Ursula von der Leyen and Manfred Weber, but a series of votes and statements also prove this'.
Euronews
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Italy not liable for Libyan coastguard actions in migrant boat sinking
Judges at the European Court of Human Rights ruled on Thursday that Italy can't be held liable for the actions of Libya's coastguard, rejecting a case brought by a group of migrants rescued from the Mediterranean Sea in a fatal boat sinking in 2017. The court in Strasbourg declared the case inadmissible, finding Italy didn't have "effective control" of the expanse of waters off the coast of Tripoli where the small ship carrying around 150 people sank. Twenty people died in the sinking and around 45 survivors said they were taken to Tajura Detention Centre in Tripoli where they were beaten and abused. The judges found that the captain and crew of the Libyan vessel Ras Jadir had acted independently when they answered a distress signal in the early morning hours on 6 November 2017. Since 2017, Italy has supplied Libya with funding, vessels and training as part of an agreement to slow the numbers of migrants crossing the Mediterranean. However, the judges found that this support didn't prove that "Italy had taken over Libya's public-authority powers." A group of migrants was rescued by the humanitarian organisation Sea Watch and were taken to Italy. A ruling in favour of the 14 survivors who filed the complaint at the ECHR could have undermined international agreements made by several EU countries with Libya, Turkey and others to prevent migrants from coming to European shores. The ECHR handles complaints against the 46 member states of the Council of Europe. The intergovernmental organisation isn't an EU institution and was set up after World War II to promote peace and democracy. Libya isn't a member of the Council of Europe, so the court has no jurisdiction over the country's actions. Three right-wing political groups at the European Parliament are attempting for a second time to establish an investigative inquiry committee into NGO financing by the European Commission, as Transparency International alleges an MEP-orchestrated smear campaign against civil society and is launching a complaint about leaks. German newspaper Welt Am Sonntag claimed last week that the EU executive had allegedly secretly paid environmental NGOs up to €700,000 to promote the bloc's climate policy. The Commission denied the allegations of secret payments and a spokesperson told Euronews that the executive exercises a high degree of transparency when it comes to providing funding to NGOs. "The latest revelations published by the German press about murky ties between the European Commission and environmental NGOs make the establishment of a parliamentary committee of inquiry into the so-called 'Green Gate' scandal ever more urgent," European Conservatives and Reformists MEP Carlo Fidanza said in a press release, adding: "This committee, which has been requested by the ECR Group and backed by 200 MEPs from various political families, is essential." Hungarian Patriots MEP Csaba Dömötör told Euronews he believes more transparency is needed in relation to NGO contracts with the European Commission. "We see that they finance a blindly ideologically driven agenda from taxpayers' money, for which the price and the burden will be paid by taxpayers," Dömötör said, adding: "The Commission says those contracts are not secret. We will see, as we will launch targeted information requests to know the content of those lobbying contracts. The European Commission will have its chance to open up and to prove that the democratic values that they request from member states are also valid for themselves." The Welt allegations first surfaced in February, and in April a parliamentary committee voted down a raft of amendments from right-wing lawmakers seeking to incorporate sharp criticism of EU funding for non-governmental organisations into the discharge of the bloc's 2023 budget. As well as rejecting a joint proposal by Fidesz and France's Rassemblement National to condemn an 'enormous EU-NGO propaganda complex', the committee at that time also rejected a slew of amendments tabled by conservative European People's Party (EPP) lawmaker Monika Hohlmeier. Among these was a call for the EU Court of Auditors (ECA) to conduct a probe specifically into the LIFE Programme, the bloc's funding instrument for environmental projects on the ground, a small portion of which supports campaign groups through operating grants. The Conference of the Presidents at the European Parliament will now decide on the establishment of the committee next week in Strasbourg. Another two right-wing groups, Patriots for Europe and Europe of Sovereign Nations, also lined up in support of the initiative. Rene Aust, chair of ESN, told Euronews the group will support any inquiry into the misuse of public funds. "The Commission is paying activists to shape public opinion – this is not neutral governance, but orchestrated democracy," Aust said. The position of the European People's Party group is not clear-cut, since not all MEPs share Hohlmeier's position. Meanwhile, Transparency International EU director Nick Aiossa told Euronews that the claims of NGO's shadow-lobbying for the Commission have already been debunked. "These are already debunked stories that were circulated in February," said Aiossa, adding: "I simply don't understand why the German press would jump on this, unless, of course, it has a more political agenda behind it from the people who are leaking the contracts." He said that Commission funding of civil society in order to participate in public debate is a good thing, and that ample transparency measures already exist. Back in April, Transparency International stood up against the idea of an inquiry committee in an open letter. "These coordinated attacks that we've seen from this House over the last six months have three very clear objectives. They're meant to discredit NGOs. They're meant to distract NGOs to try and counter these false narratives in the press but ultimately, unfortunately, the ultimate objective is to defund NGOs. And we are about to see this play out in the new budget negotiations that are going to take place over the next several years," Aiossa added. He said that a small circle of right-wing MEPs is responsible for leaking sensitive data to the press, and that Transparency would be filing a legal complaint on the issue. "We've had a handful of MEPs have access to a limited amount of confidential documents that they are using to leak to journalists as part of a smear campaign against NGOs. There are rules in place in how these documents must be handled because they are confidential, and there's no accountability in this House on these leaks. And so I intend to submit a formal complaint to both the Commission as well as the president of the Parliament." At the heart of the latest media revelations on EU funding for environmental NGOs are the LIFE operating grants. These are part of the EU's LIFE programme, a €5.4 billion budget (2021–2027) aimed at financing projects related to green innovation, circular economy, energy efficiency, nature conservation, and pollution reduction. Around €15.6 million of this is allocated to environmental NGOs via operating grants and under this scheme, individual organisations may receive up to €700,000 annually. Grants are awarded through open calls with clear eligibility criteria and NGOs are evaluated not by the Commission directly but by agencies such as, in the case of LIFE , the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA). Advocacy through lobbying is permitted but not required or directed under the grants. Each grant includes the disclaimer that 'views and opinions expressed' by NGOs 'do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union'. Grant conditions are public, and there is no requirement that applicants align their objectives with Commission interests to receive funding. In short: NGOs retain full autonomy over how they use the money, within legal and contractual boundaries. They are subject to transparency rules, must uphold EU values, and are routinely audited. If they fail to implement their work programmes, funding can be withdrawn. While much of the oversight relies on self-reporting – one of the main pitfalls of the system – the Commission is enhancing its risk-based verification following advice from the European Court of Auditors. In April 2025, the EU auditors labelled the Commission's funding process as 'opaque' and warned of potential reputational risks. However, it found no evidence during a year-long probe of any wrongdoing by either NGOs or European Commission officials. As a result, the Commission last year issued new guidance to prevent EU funding from being used for direct lobbying of EU institutions following these concerns. With additional reporting by Gerardo Fortuna
