On 6 March 2017 Hungary and Slovakia - with the support of several Central-Eastern European Member States - have raised the problem of dual quality of foodstuffs at the Agriculture and Fisheries Council. Based on a number of investigations carried out by some Member States, it has been proven that dual quality of foodstuffs does exist on the EU’s internal market. Member States in favour agreed that this phenomenon is seriously harmful for the interests of consumers and causes a general loss of confidence.
Sándor Fazekas, Minister of Agriculture highlighted at the Council meeting that Hungary considers unacceptable that in relation with food quality some firms consider people living in Central and Eastern European as second-class EU citizens. Like all Europeans, Hungarian consumers also have the right to buy products which are of equally sound quality. The Hungarian position is that a specific legal framework with accountability is needed. The European Commission will initiate a dialogue on the subject with the competent authorities of the Member States.
The debate held on the future of the Common Agricultural Policy is closely related to the public consultation on “Modernising and simplifying the CAP”. According to the Hungarian position, the European Union should continue having a strong, two-pillar CAP, with sufficient resources allocated for achieving the objectives laid down in the Treaties. The CAP budget must be preserved, it should not be spent on other purposes. It must be avoided that farmers pay the price of political decisions. Hungary considers essential that farmers should receive the financial resources of the Common Agricultural Policy, thus new challenges can only be accepted with the allocation of necessary additional resources. In addition, real simplification is essential in all areas of the CAP.
