We want our subsidy

last updated 8 January 2015

Budapest, Hungary

Some 2,000 Hungarian farmers parked their tractors in the middle of downtown Budapest last week to protest delays in getting their E.U. subsidies. When Hungary and other Eastern European countries joined the union last year, they became eligible for agricultural stipends, which the E.U. gives out based on farm size. Most of the new member states have already paid their farmers. But Hungarian officials are taking longer to distribute the funds because they are double-checking the size of each farm against satellite photos. If the E.U. later rejects a subsidy claim, they note, the farmer has to pay back the subsidy with interest, which would bankrupt most Hungarian farmers.