Slovak Farmers Uneasy about EU Budget for 2021-27
Bratislava, May 6 (TASR) – The Slovak Agriculture and Food Chamber (SPPK) on Sunday voiced concerns about the draft of the EU budget for 2021-27, pointing to a 5-percent cut in funds for farming.
According to SPPK spokesperson Jana Holeciova, much will also depend on specific allocations of farming funds for individual countries.
“For example, the media have already indicated that the migration policies of individual countries will also be taken into account,” said Holeciova.
Meanwhile, SPPK chairman Emil Macho stated that relatively wealthier EU-member countries most probably won’t have problems with supplementing a lack of EU funds from their own resources, and it will be up to the Slovak Government to consider similar measures.
At the same time Holeciova stressed that SPPK isn’t happy with the current Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), either, as it doesn’t suit new member countries from central and eastern Europe. While the European Commission was supposed to ensure that these countries receive extra money in compensation for lower direct payments, farmers in new countries still receive lower funds than their peers in western Europe, with Slovakia currently at only 78 percent of the EU average, added Holeciova.
