Latest news with #IstvánNagy
Budapest Times
4 days ago
- Business
- Budapest Times
Nagy: EU's preferential treatment of Ukrainian farmers is unacceptable
István Nagy, Agriculture Minister, said the European Union's preferential treatment of Ukrainian farmers, while neglecting the interests of its agricultural sector, was unacceptable, speaking to journalists ahead of a meeting of his EU peers in Brussels on Monday. 'This cannot be allowed. We will not allow it,' Minister Nagy said. He called out the European Commission for finalising the main points of a trade deal between the EU and Ukraine 'behind member states' backs' and said the resulting increase in imports of Ukrainian farm products would put European farmers in an 'extremely disadvantageous position'. 'We are committed to doing everything to prevent that agreement from entering into force,' he added. Minister Nagy said that, on the initiative of Hungary, the agriculture ministers of EU member states that share a border with Ukraine were calling on Brussels in a joint declaration to protect European farmers from a wave of Ukrainian farm products instead of defending the interests of Ukraine. Addressing the next long-term EU budget, Nagy said Hungary took the position that support for farmers should not be reduced. He added that area-based and investment subsidies needed to be maintained, supporting a resilient, competitive, sustainable, farmer-friendly and knowledge-based agriculture sector. Hungary insists on a separate budget for the farm sector, Minister Nagy said.
Budapest Times
6 days ago
- Politics
- 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
11-06-2025
- Business
- Budapest Times
Nagy: Hungary will maintain its ban on imports of Ukrainian food products
István Nagy, Minister of Agriculture, said the interests of Hungarian farmers come first, therefore, Hungary will maintain its ban on imports of Ukrainian food products after the expiry of the free trade agreement between Brussels and Kyiv. Commenting on his social media page, Minister Nagy noted that after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, Brussels decided to allow unlimited and duty-free entry of Ukrainian produce into the territory of the European Union. As a result, large quantities of Ukrainian grain and other farm products of dubious quality have flowed into EU territory without control, jeopardising the livelihood of Hungarian farmers. In order to protect the interests of Hungarian farmers, Hungary introduced a ban on imports of these products. Minister Nagy said the unlimited and unilateral EU authorisation of Ukrainian imports expired on June 5, and after that, the pre-war trade agreement between Ukraine and the EU temporarily came into force. According to this, Ukraine can import farm products into the EU duty-free according to specified quotas. Despite the reduction in import volume, there is still no guarantee that imports arriving in the EU will not be stuck in member states near the border, causing huge market disruptions again, the minister said. Another problem is that the regulation still does not provide a solution for corn, one of the most sensitive products from the Hungarian point of view, given that the tariff rate is zero. In addition, even the reduced quotas would give Ukrainian farmers an excessive competitive advantage to the detriment of Hungarian producers, primarily in the case of meat and eggs. In this situation, Hungary continues to maintain the import ban introduced under national jurisdiction two years ago to protect the interests of Hungarian farmers, Nagy said. Minister Nagy said Hungary continues to stand by the principle that food arriving in the EU must comply with the same rules and traceability criteria as products made in the EU. Ukraine must not endanger the EU's agricultural markets, for which Brussels must find a long-term and reassuring solution. Until this happens, Hungary will maintain the restrictive measures, Minister Nagy said.
Budapest Times
07-05-2025
- Business
- Budapest Times
Nagy: New agricultural dimensions are opening up between Hungary and the US
Minister Nagy said Hungary is fundamentally renewing its agriculture and food industry, and in this process, Hungary is counting on the cooperation of the US. István Nagy, Agriculture Minister, said new dimensions are opening up between our country and the United States in terms of agricultural economic relations. Following a meeting with Robert Palladino, the US charge d'affaires in Budapest on Monday, Minister Nagy said Hungary is fundamentally renewing its agriculture and food industry, and in this process, Hungary is counting on the cooperation of the US in terms of knowledge and technology. The Hungarian agriculture sector is a great fit for the technical background of the United States, which needs to be exploited even more. There are many segments in the manufacturing industry and the agricultural machinery segment where we can establish further cooperation, he added. Minister Nagy said it is extremely important to strengthen scientific and educational ties, as it is crucial for Hungarian youth to be able to participate in the overseas education system. The minister recommended the National Agriculture and Food Industry Exhibition and Fair (OMEK), scheduled for September, where participation offers a great opportunity for the US to showcase itself.
Budapest Times
06-05-2025
- Business
- Budapest Times
Agriculture Minister: More than 200 billion HUF are available this year to farmers
The decision-making systems of the affected programs had been updated in order to help farmers get faster access to support. István Nagy, the minister of agriculture, said on Thursday that more than 200 billion forints (EUR 500m) are available this year to farmers thanks to programs promoting environmentally conscious and ecological farming. The ministry said in a statement that the decision-making systems of the affected programs had been updated in order to help farmers get faster access to support. Minister Nagy said that the ministry remained dedicated to supporting programs that promote sustainable, environmental and climate-conscious farming methods. Due to high demand, the ministry has reorganised resources in order to be able to support all applicants who fulfil the formal and minimum professional requirements, he added. Over the next five years, the potential total support to be made available could exceed 1,040 billion forints, he said. Small and family farms will be entitled to apply in the first round, to be followed by larger farms, he added.
