EU budget crisis ERUPTS: FURY as Brussels Brexit cutbacks ‘TARGET’ Visegrad states

Oli Smith — Wed, 21 Feb 2018 07:52:34 +0000

BRUSSELS looks set to use Brexit to PUNISH farmers in Central and Eastern Europe by resolving the Brexit financial blackhole with a severe cutback on agricultural subsidies that could see a 10 percent plunge in income.

THe EU risks inflaming tensions between member states, after Britain’s exit from the European Union leaves a £11.5 billion blackhole in the bloc’s coffers.

According to a report on TRT, Brussels will resolve their financial concerns by targeting Central and Eastern Europe with cutbacks on agricultural subsidies.

Countries in Central and Eastern Europe – including the Visegrad states the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary – have been prominent critics of the policies in Brussels.

The EU’s move to slash farm subidies, in order to plug the budget shortfall, will likely further inflame the tensions among the EU27.

TRT; GETTY

Brussels will resolve the crisis by targeting Central and Eastern Europe with farm cutbacks

The Common Agricultural Policy currently takes up 41 percent of the EU’s budget – which totals around €58bn.

However, priorities among the EU leadership will shift away from agriculture and towards defence, security and migration.

Craig Copetas told TRT: “Brexit has drained the financial coffers of the EU. To fix this, the EU are looking at a 30 percent cut in subsidies.

“This would trigger a 10 percent drop in farmer income around the EU. Agriculture is the heart and soul of Europe, and keeping these subsidies is crucial to the EU’s strength.

“These cuts would really hit Eastern Europe, where they have much larger farm lands.”

The proposed cutbacks in the agricultural subsidies come after the future of the CAP budget was debated in the agriculture committee of the European Parliament this week.

There are fears that the cutbacks could aggravate Europe’s growing rift between East and West member-states.

GETTY

The EU’s move to slash farm subsidies will further inflame the stand-off

Representatives from Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia, Bulgaria and Romania met with the EU’s Budget Commissioner Guenther Oettinger at the beginning of the month to put forward their case against agricultural cuts.

Pekka Pesonen, Secretary-General of COPA COGEGA, a body which represents farmers in the EU, said: “We have member states for instance in some eastern and central member states that are truly dependent on the CAP.

“We cannot leave those farmers out in the cold.”

A Czech official told Politico last month: ““It’s really, really difficult for us.

“We cannot explain this: Not only to our farmers, but to the general public. Why should the Czech Republic be discriminated against?”

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COPA COGEGA (EU) - Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association

EU budget crisis ERUPTS: FURY as Brussels Brexit cutbacks ‘TARGET’ Visegrad states