Hungary is realising its interests in Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) talks, an agriculture ministry official told a professional forum of the Hungarian Economic Association on Tuesday. Anikó Juhász, deputy state secretary for agriculture, told the online event that Hungary is set to receive 12 billion euros in subsidies. Also, Hungary is slated to get 262.9 million euros out of the 7.5 billion euros available for rural development in the Next Generation EU programme, she added.
The presentation can be heard (in Hungarian) at the podcast chanel of the HEA:
Juhász called the outcome of the Luxembourg meeting of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council at the end of October a milestone along the long path of negotiations lasting until 2021. By the end of that year, EU member states must formally submit their CAP strategic plans and pass national legislation, she noted. CAP funding is shrinking in the 2021-2027 period, but it will not fall to the level originally proposed by the European Commission, Juhász noted. Funding including CAP is set to total 356.374 billion euros at 2018 prices, 20 billion higher than the original 2018 commission proposal. Of this, 40% will be directed towards environmental and climate protection, she said.
Referring to the CAP regulatory framework, Juhász noted that area payments are not the same throughout the EU, but the aim was to achieve convergence across the bloc. Average direct payments are set to grow to 200 euros per hectare by 2022 before further increasing to at least 215 by 2027. Reserves are set to be replenished from 2022 funds that were tapped but unused, she said, adding that this would involve 450 million euros at current prices. Also, there will be more room for manoeuvre when it comes to shifting funds from one pillar to another, with this possibility expanding from 15% to 25%. Fully 30% will be eligible for redeployment to direct income support under Pillar I, she noted.