EU farm aid overhaul threatens large Hungarian growers as negotiations stall

A proposal from the European Commission to introduce an upper limit on direct farm subsidies, calculated by cultivated area, is causing friction with Hungary, where many large farms could fall above the suggested ceiling. The draft sets the limit at a six-figure euro amount, which would slash payments for the country’s leading agricultural firms. MEP Norbert Lins, the report’s author, recommends a higher cap of half a million euros and suggests the limit be applied uniformly to natural persons throughout the EU.

He also warns that without coordinated data on national payment registers, the cap could be circumvented via offshore structures. The plan further includes a degressive payment scale that would reduce support as subsidy levels rise, a feature contested by several member states and parliamentary groups. Negotiations are expected to continue through late October and into December, with the possibility of a temporary extension of one outlet rules if no consensus is reached.