Slovak government scrambles for arguments amid EU farm subsidy delay

7 months ago 30

Slovak Agriculture Minister Richard Takáč is keeping quiet about his meeting with European Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski over the delayed release of EU farm subsidies, known as direct payments, which the Slovak government has still not paid to all eligible Slovak farmers, putting them at risk of not receiving them.

The Slovak Agricultural Paying Agency (PPA) has yet to pay out the remaining EU agricultural subsidies and has until the end of June to do so.

It is not known what has been paid out to date, as the agency and the Agriculture Ministry have not responded to questions, although, by March, it was announced that 30% of the total subsidy package of almost €600 million had been paid out.

On Monday, Takáč met with Wojciechowski in Brussels, saying he went to seek solutions on how to resolve the issue “in favour of Slovak farmers and food producers”. But despite sharing a short video on social media – the ministry did not provide more details and did not respond to Euractiv Slovakia’s questions.

Last week, asked about the state of direct payments by a Euractiv Slovakia journalist at a press conference, Takács refused to answer and attacked the news portal, accusing it of spreading “false information”. Euractiv Slovakia publicly rejected the minister’s claim, pointing to the ministry’s consistent avoidance of media inquiries.

Can the deadline be postponed?

Based on information from within the Agriculture Ministry, the minister’s evasive answers, and the European Commission’s statement to Euractiv Slovakia, it appears the Slovak delegation in Brussels was at least exploring the possibility of extending the deadline for the payment of direct payments.

While EU member states can disburse direct payments from one campaign to farmers by 30 June of the following year at the latest, the Commission can extend the deadline for a country “in case of exceptional management conditions” and for “justified reasons”.

“As a general rule, exceptional management conditions are taken to mean unforeseeable circumstances which could not be anticipated and corrected under normal management conditions,” European Commission Spokesman Olof Gill told Euractiv Slovakia.

He added that the Commission assesses such requests on a “case-by-case basis” and considers whether other member states are also struggling with EU subsidies or the problem is specific to a particular country.

However, this could be bad news for Bratislava, as farmers in no other EU country are waiting as long for their 2023 subsidies.

“Therefore, a failure in implementing the legal provisions due to administrative, procedural, organisational, or IT problems can, in principle, not be accepted,” the Commission spokesman said.

Both Takáč and PPA Director General Marek Čepko claim that part of the subsidies remain unpaid due to systemic and procedural failures inherited from their predecessors and admitted that one of the main causes is the problematic software that disburses the subsidies.

EU requirements for Slovakia

The EU spokesperson added, “Slovakia will be invited to duly justify such a request, which will be assessed by Commission services.”

“But first of all, Slovakia shall do everything in its power to avoid any delays and speed up direct payment execution, as farmers depend on these payments, and such delays are one of the sources of farmers’ discontent,” he said.

Takáč conceded that Slovakia may have to delay payments beyond 30 June even though this will result in financial penalties for the state according to EU rules.

However, payment delays that are too long could lead to a reduction in the amount of money Slovakia receives from the EU’s agricultural policy.

(Marián Koreň, Natália Silenská | Euractiv.sk)