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Tankok vagy traktorok: megvédi-e továbbra is az EU a gazdákat? Vita a The Ringben
Az EU új költségvetése, Ukrajna csatlakozása és a műtrágyaárak emelkedése ismét politikai célponttá teszi a gazdákat. Meg tudja-e őrizni bizalmukat, miközben a védelemre és a kereskedelemre összpontosít?
BŐVEBBEN : http://hu.euronews.com/2026/07/14/tankok-vagy-traktorok-megvedi-e-tovabbra-is-az-eu-a-gazdakat-vita-a-the-ringben
Iratkozzon fel: Az Euronews elérhető 12 nyelven
Az EU új költségvetése, Ukrajna csatlakozása és a műtrágyaárak emelkedése ismét politikai célponttá teszi a gazdákat. Meg tudja-e őrizni bizalmukat, miközben a védelemre és a kereskedelemre összpontosít?
BŐVEBBEN : http://hu.euronews.com/2026/07/14/tankok-vagy-traktorok-megvedi-e-tovabbra-is-az-eu-a-gazdakat-vita-a-the-ringben
Iratkozzon fel: Az Euronews elérhető 12 nyelven
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00:07Hello and welcome to The Ring, Euronews' weekly debate show broadcast this week from the European Parliament here in Strasbourg.
00:17I'm your host, Maret Gwynn.
00:19Every week, two members of the European Parliament step into the ring to debate some of the most pressing issues
00:26facing the European Union.
00:27This week, we're putting the spotlight once again on European farmers and asking whether their discontent risks flaring up once
00:37again.
00:38Luis Albertos has more.
00:40For two years, farmers' anger has been spilling onto European streets.
00:45Their grievances, high operational costs, stringent environmental rules and fierce foreign competition.
00:53Under pressure, Brussels made major concessions, relaxing green farming obligations, ditching plant pesticide cuts and providing financial relief.
01:02But can farmers continue to count on political protection?
01:07European governments are now battling to protect the EU's flagship agricultural funds, known as the Common Agricultural Policy, from the
01:14proposed budget cuts of European Commission Chief Ursula von der Leyen.
01:20Skyrocketing fertilizer costs due to the Hormuz trade disruptions, a raft of free trade deals and persistent heatwaves are also
01:26adding fuel to fire.
01:29Can Europe continue to put farmers at the center of their political agenda?
01:33Or will competing demands, from defense spending to enlargement, force the EU to make difficult choices?
01:42Plenty there for our contenders to get their teeth into.
01:46Let's meet them.
01:48Kieran Muloli, an Irish MEP from the Liberal Renew Europe Group.
01:52He's a vice chair of the Special Committee on Housing and a member of the Committees on Regional Development and
01:56Agriculture and Rural Development.
01:58Before becoming an MEP, he worked as a journalist for over three decades.
02:02Regarding the EU long-term budget, he said,
02:05The Common Agricultural Policy must have a dedicated and robust budget of 433 billion euros, at least at current prices.
02:12CAP cannot be treated as a leftover or absorbed international envelopes.
02:17Pekka Toveri, a Finnish MEP from the Central Red European People's Party.
02:21A retired general of the Finnish Defense Forces, he serves in the Committees on Security and Defense and Agriculture and
02:26Rural Development.
02:27He says,
02:28The next MFF is requiring difficult choices.
02:31As more resources are needed towards new priorities such as security and defense,
02:35the next CAP needs to make every euro count by providing effective, well-targeted support for our farmers and strengthening
02:41Europe's food security.
02:45Kieran Muloli and Pekka Toveri, welcome.
02:48Thank you so much for being with us.
02:49Great to have you.
02:50Very, very relevant topic.
02:52Farmers back in the political spotlight.
02:55Let me start with you, Kieran Muloli.
02:58Tough negotiations happening now on the EU's next long-term budget.
03:02Will farmers' subsidies be protected?
03:06I hope they will.
03:07I think that's the first issue.
03:08And I think Nneka probably will agree with me that we need to put food security very high on our
03:13agenda.
03:13I get a sense already, as the Irish presidency starts,
03:16that there is an agreement across the board among the member states that food security is still very important.
03:21So I really hope they will.
03:23It will be a question of how we balance the books on this issue.
03:25Where will the deficit come from?
03:27Because farmers cannot cope with a loss of 20% to 24% in their subsidies.
03:32Yet the EU is facing multiple challenges.
03:35You come from Finland, Mr. Toveri, sharing the longest land border in the EU with Russia.
03:40We know about the defence and security threats.
03:43And we know about the budget needed to fund those defence needs.
03:47Is it inevitable now that farmers may face cuts as the EU tries to address this threat?
03:53Well, first of all, I have to say that, you know, I'm coming from Finland, which 1866 to 1868 was
03:58one of the last Western European countries with big famine.
04:00Eight percent of the population died because of famine.
04:03So we understand about food security and the importance of agriculture.
04:07But on the other hand, we also know the threat of Russia and which is not only the eastern border
04:12countries, but the whole Europe.
04:14And therefore, we need to be stronger in security and defence.
04:17And that means everybody have to bid in also agriculture.
04:20And it's most important thing is not how much you throw in money, but how you use the money.
04:25You mentioned that member states seem intent on protecting farmers, but the commission chief, Ursula von der Leyen, did propose
04:32a major cut.
04:33So does she really have farmers' interests at heart, would you say?
04:37Well, I think the difficulty is not just the cap programme, but it's the policy of trade deals, which Ursula
04:43von der Leyen has also pursued in Europe.
04:45You will know I'm bitterly opposed to the Mercosur trade deal.
04:48Not of where it is now, because I think we're getting control on their standards, but where it could go
04:53in terms of replacing Irish farmers and French farmers and Finnish farmers, for that matter, in the markets going down
04:58the line.
04:58So it's a combination, really, of what I believe is an excessive rush to sign up trade deals alongside the
05:04cap package at the moment.
05:06But let's be straight about this.
05:07If it goes ahead, there are significant implications.
05:09If you look at the actual cut that's proposed at the moment and in terms of what it would do,
05:14it would reduce effectively the livestock herd in Europe.
05:17We've looked at the figures that Juristat have given us over the last number of days.
05:20Based on the present MFF budget projection, we could be looking at a loss in the region of millions of
05:26cattle going down the line.
05:28And when you look at each country, including Finland, there is an important issue here.
05:32Food production is surely our first priority.
05:35If we have a 24% cut, it could take the food literally out of 23 million people's mouth over
05:41the course of seven years.
05:43Now, nobody wants that.
05:44Indeed. I want to pick up on what you said about the Mercosur.
05:47A free trade deal.
05:48We know that your party, the EPP, has been championing this agenda of striking various trade deals with different parts
05:54of the world.
05:55But is it an existential threat now to farmers, would you say?
05:59I don't agree.
06:00You have to remember, I'm true to my background.
06:03I'm a big picture guy.
06:05Farming is very important for Europe.
06:07But from the EU's economy, it's 1.2%.
06:10Still, we use about 30% of our budget to support farming.
06:13Where that money comes?
06:14It comes from the 98.8% of other trade and industry, which is providing that money.
06:20Mercosur was 94% of anything else but agriculture.
06:24Only 6% was agriculture.
06:25And it also opened markets for European agriculture to South America.
06:29So I think that we need these kind of deals because we are challenged not only by Russia and China,
06:33but the United States too.
06:35So the pros of Mercosur outweighs the cons, Toveri says.
06:39I think the main issue with Irish farmers and, indeed, Finnish farmers hybrid Mercosur was the lack of equivalence.
06:43Yes, we're looking at two member states producing food on a different system in Brazil without the standards, without the
06:50testing, without the audits.
06:51We found that out.
06:52That's why they're no longer on the safe food list in Europe at the moment.
06:56I want to pick up on how this debate has become so politicized.
07:01Would you say that this debate has become too politicized and that we're losing sight of the real concrete concerns
07:08of farmers on the ground, including in Finland?
07:10Well, we saw what happened in the Mercosur voting.
07:13In EPP, all the French and Polish maps voted against it.
07:17All the French maps in all the parties voted against it, even though all the studies show that Mercosur is
07:23good for economy of France.
07:25Why?
07:25Because there's elections coming and nobody wants to give any room for any populist party bringing in the farmers' votes.
07:33So the strategic picture, the big picture, is thrown away because of narrow national political issues.
07:41A big issue here is that Europe hasn't prepared for decades properly the world we are living in.
07:47The energy prices are crazy because we are still depending on the fossil fuels.
07:50The fertilizer prices are crazy because we are depending either from the dictatorships or fertilizers coming from an area which
08:01has always been volatile and full of crises.
08:05So we have to prepare and make sure that the whole chain, food production chain, is protected and the prices
08:13are adequate so that the farmers can make a living out of it.
08:16But when we talk about food security, MEP Maloli, do you think it's fair to say that European consumers might
08:23need to be prepared to pay more in order to ensure food security, local produce and so on?
08:29Well, I think, firstly, if Europe does not support the industry to the manner it should do, they will have
08:34to pay more.
08:35That's a fact.
08:35But I think the important issue here is to remember where we've come from.
08:38You know, it is a cliche.
08:39I know it's often used that Europe is now going for tanks instead of tractors.
08:43This is thrown out.
08:44But you've got to look behind that phrase at the historic background to this.
08:48When we joined the European Union back in 1973, agriculture was the reason we came in.
08:52It was nothing to do with defense.
08:54At that point in time, 72% of the European budget was spent on agriculture.
08:58It's now down to 20%, 25%.
09:01And while I understand, and there's a balance to be hit here, I understand the world has changed.
09:05The geopolitical events have happened.
09:07And we do need to be very careful in terms of defense.
09:09We play our part as peacekeepers in the world as well, remember.
09:12But also remember, we feel the pendulum has swung too far.
09:15That at the end of the day, food security is important.
09:18When the COVID hit, farmers continued to produce.
09:22When the Ukraine conflict began, farmers continued to produce.
09:25So why should we pick on that industry now?
09:28And not just the defense budget, but other budgets.
09:30I'm not just picking out defense, by the way.
09:32I think the competitiveness budget needs to be defined a little bit more.
09:35We see exactly where that's going to go before we take it away from agriculture.
09:39Would you agree that the EU is perhaps losing sight of its original purpose, which is to serve farmers, for
09:44example?
09:45Well, as my dear colleague said, we are living in a different world than it was in the 1970s.
09:51And if we don't change how we operate as an EU, we will lose.
09:55And then nobody is happy, not farmers, not industrial workers, not anybody.
10:01So we have to make things differently.
10:03And my experience from my previous life is that seeing a problem and throwing a lot of money to it
10:09normally doesn't work.
10:10You have to think very carefully what you do money.
10:12And the money has to be used so that you get the results, what you want from that money.
10:16In this case, we have to secure, for example, young farmers, because being a farmer is a dying trade in
10:24Europe.
10:24And we have to stop by making it lucrative for young people to start farming so that they can be
10:30living out of it.
10:31Which is why, Pekka, we probably should invest more now in generational renewal.
10:35So let's up the farming budget, put in money to let farmers retire and bring in young farmers.
10:40So you want to bring it down or others want to bring it down, perhaps, at the present.
10:43Von der Leyen certainly wants to bring it down.
10:44So why not invest with me in generational renewal?
10:46Well, in APP, we want to use a bigger part of the cap money for young farmers, because that's the
10:52reason.
10:53OK, I'm sure we can pick up on that issue of young farmers, hopefully, later in the show.
10:57But let me stop you there for now.
10:58I see you're getting warmed up, but it's time for us to move on to the next round and to
11:04take the gloves off.
11:08In this round, we gave you both the opportunity to directly challenge each other.
11:13I know you've come prepared with questions today.
11:17So let's start with you, Pekka Toveri.
11:20Your first question to Kieran Maloli.
11:23So we both agree that Europe must do more for our farmers.
11:27With growing spending needs for other priorities such as security, which EU priorities would you cut to restore the cap
11:33budget or would you grow the EU membership fees?
11:37Yeah, so straight away, I think I've just touched on it.
11:39Competitiveness is a new budget, and it's important.
11:41I read the Mario Draghi report like everybody else, but it's $450 billion.
11:45It's an awful lot of money.
11:46And at the moment, in my mind, it's not defined clearly where it's going to go.
11:50So I would look at that firstly.
11:51That's the first area I would hit on.
11:53Remember what's happened in defence and space in that area.
11:55We've gone from where we were spending just $14 billion up to where we are now, over 70.
12:00I mean, do we need to go that far?
12:02That's the question I ask.
12:03Is the race to space more important than the race to have food on the tables in Finland and in
12:08Ireland?
12:08I don't think it is.
12:09So those are the key areas I would look more closer at in terms of determining where the budget deficit
12:13would come from.
12:14Okay.
12:15Kieran Maloli, your first question to your opponent, Pekka Toveri.
12:17Yeah, I mean, I suppose you have consistently argued that Europe should invest.
12:21Now, I respect that.
12:22I also respect the work you've done as a former general and your own professional career.
12:25But I suppose I would argue that when one looks around Europe and even at Finland, where, you know, in
12:31recent years you've seen an issue of deprivation among children,
12:34where up to 10%, I believe, of children in Finland have come up to a point where they're suffering from
12:38deprivation, that's food on the table.
12:41So what I would argue to you is that your domestic agenda should be seen on a par with any
12:46concerns about defence.
12:48And particularly, I would argue that food security is national security at the end of the day.
12:52Well, I have to say that I agree totally.
12:56You know, we can, in time of crisis, we can live about max three days without water, a couple of
13:02weeks without food, without electricity much longer.
13:05So, yes, food security is very important for our security, and we have to safeguard that.
13:11And, again, the money has to go to the right places.
13:14And it's not only, we have to remember that this house is for legislation.
13:17You don't always have to throw money on the problems.
13:20You can also make legislation to improve the condition of the farming and make it easier, less bureaucracy, less restrictions
13:29for the farmers,
13:30so that they can concentrate what they are doing the best, bringing food to table.
13:34Your second question now to MVP, Kieran Maloldi.
13:36So, the real crisis is not only funding, it is that young people are living farming, as we discussed already.
13:42If you had to choose, would you prioritise supporting existing farms or bringing a new generation into agriculture?
13:48A very good question, and I think we've touched on it already in this debate.
13:52They are equally important, but I suppose look at the average age across Europe.
13:54We have a major problem on the upper end.
13:56So, we have farmers up at 57, 58 years of age.
13:59The average in Europe at the moment, it's far too high.
14:02The industry, I think, ultimately is doomed.
14:04So, my first priority would be to deal with that issue with strong investment supports.
14:10Firstly, to let farmers get out.
14:12So, a package, a retirement package for farmers to leave.
14:15That would be my first priority.
14:16And then, secondly, a package, particularly in Ireland, where we have a lot of young farmers coming in
14:19who need to get investment for new machinery, to buy land, to get a first step on the ladder.
14:24We've traditionally had a problem in land being handed over to the next generation.
14:28But I think if the funding is available, and Commissioner Christophe says on a regular basis that he is going
14:35to prioritize it,
14:37I would like to see investment in that generation renewal going right up to 10% in the next package.
14:42Okay.
14:43Kieran Mulally, your final question.
14:45Yeah, I suppose in general, you know, Europe has managed to increase the defense expenditure dramatically.
14:50So, I can understand, and I can understand why.
14:52I'm not blind to what's going on in Europe.
14:54But why can't Europe also maintain, I think, a properly funded common agricultural policy at the end of the day?
15:00In other words, do you think, Pekka, within, say, the Council of Ministers, when the ministers meet,
15:04is it a lack of understanding of agriculture?
15:07Or is it, perhaps, a lack of a will to contribute to farming ahead, as I say, of pressing defense
15:16issues at the moment?
15:17Well, I think that the big challenge is that we are working too much on the silos,
15:22that we don't look at this as a broad problem as it is.
15:26Farm is much more than just cap.
15:29We have to take care of the regulation and other actions so that, as I mentioned before,
15:36that we have affordable energy for farmers.
15:39We have affordable fertilizers for the farmers, et cetera.
15:44And when we look at the defense, well, the fact is that the major burden on the defense is on
15:50the member states, of course.
15:51They are paying the biggest bill.
15:54But, again, it would be good to have a proper analysis and wide view on so that we do this
16:02strategically.
16:03You know, creating environment for farming in 10 years' time, in 20 years' time,
16:08is also functioning the same when we are building our defense capabilities.
16:12Same thing.
16:13If you don't have a good plan, how are you going to use the money?
16:16And it's the same in the defense industry.
16:18There's a lot of things we can do without throwing money in the defense industry
16:21by just taking down the regulations and our legislative restrictions we have.
16:28And there the biggest problem is the member states because, again,
16:32the narrow national political interests come to play.
16:36And there's always somebody out of 27 who said that,
16:39well, we can't allow this and this legislation to change because they're national interests.
16:44Well, would you agree with Donald Tusk who was asked about this question?
16:46He said it's always the big countries or the scrooges when this happens.
16:50They want to go back and raid the European budget and shrink it
16:53instead of dealing with their responsibilities as the larger member states.
16:56Well, yes, I agree.
16:59Coming from a small country, I can see that we see the big picture in Finland
17:03much better than Germans or friends have.
17:06We've heard plenty from our two contenders now, but it's time to bring in a new voice.
17:15I'd like to pivot now to consider the impact of climate change
17:18on European farming communities and bring in Teresa Ribeira,
17:22the European Commission vice president for a clean, just and competitive transition.
17:27In an interview with The Guardian last week,
17:29she was asked about the recent heat waves that have struck many parts of Europe, of course.
17:33She said,
17:34I am tired of hearing people don't back the Green Deal anymore.
17:38It's not true.
17:40People prefer to ensure fresh water that is not polluted, breathe clean air or count on a healthy ecosystem
17:47than having polluted water or no capacity to ensure crops and harvests.
17:53There is still this fierce fight against facts, science, preparedness and investment.
17:58We need to reject this kind of BS, she said, based on lies and against people's interests.
18:05Is she right?
18:06Has the Green Deal now been demonized?
18:08And I will press you here.
18:09Have farmers played a role in that?
18:11I think farmers have played a key role in this.
18:13I totally reject what the commissioner says, by the way.
18:15The facts are that farmers have been the custodians of the environment for generations.
18:20I mean, if you just deal with this in terms of common sense,
18:22what the commissioner says in terms of water quality,
18:24it's not in the interest of a farmer to have polluted water in the river at the end of his
18:28farm,
18:29thereby causing a threat to his own animals.
18:31It threatens his own industry.
18:32And for generations, my family and others have defended the environment.
18:35We've played our part in the environmental schemes.
18:37The issue for us is that when we're spending more on the environmental schemes
18:41than we're spending on basic food production and generational renewal,
18:44that's when it becomes a problem.
18:45Would you agree?
18:46Have farmers been targeted too much in this debate around the Green Deal?
18:50Yeah, I do agree.
18:52I do agree.
18:52You know, at least in Finland, where the farm sizes are much smaller than in Central Europe,
18:58for example, you know, they have lived there for centuries.
19:02They know the nature.
19:03Finns love the nature.
19:04They want to protect.
19:05They don't want to destroy anything just for farming.
19:10And we have a lot of problems.
19:12And we have to remember that one size doesn't fit all.
19:14You know, when you look at the solution, because Finland is an Arctic country,
19:17totally different place to farming than in southern Spain, for example.
19:22And we have a lot of areas where you have two centimeters of product with soil left because the quality
19:28of the farmland has gone down.
19:30So we have to look at the science to find the solution.
19:33And one solution, in my opinion, is not to go these big, giant industrial farms with thousands of hectares because
19:40those companies don't care so much about the environment.
19:43Interesting point of agreement there.
19:44But it's time now for me to take us to a break here on The Ring.
19:50But we'll be back with more after this.
19:52Stay with us.
20:01Welcome back to The Ring, Euronews' weekly debate show.
20:05I'm Marit Gwynn, and I'm joined today by Kieran Maloli from the Centrist Renew Europe Group and Pekka Toveri from
20:11the European People's Party.
20:12Today, our topic is European farmers and the multiple challenges they face.
20:17Now, there is increasing political momentum now behind efforts to accept new members into the European Union.
20:24But what impact would this have on farming subsidies?
20:28Well, there are a few theories about how the EU's common agricultural policy could adapt to accommodate new members such
20:35as Ukraine.
20:36Let's take a closer look at some of them.
20:38So these are three theories floating around.
20:41The first is that we could have an increased budget for farmers, costing the EU between 7.6 and 13
20:47.4 billion euros more per year.
20:50Secondly, we could see the eligibility criteria tightening a bit, meaning some farmers, notably in Western Europe, could see cuts
20:58to the current levels of subsidies they receive.
21:01And third, a potential reduced per hectare payment, meaning all farmers receiving equally less, but which could hit heavily dependent
21:11Baltic and Eastern European states hardest.
21:15So a very sensitive and political debate here.
21:18But first you, Kieran Maloli, Ukraine joining the EU.
21:23Is this good or bad news for farmers?
21:25Well, let me say firstly, I represent the farmers in Ireland.
21:27So I'm opposed full stop to reduction in our subsidies or in our single farm payments.
21:32That doesn't mean I don't understand the invitation to Ukraine to come on board.
21:37That doesn't mean I don't understand the contribution the farmers can make to Europe.
21:41But we have to remember that in full production, the output from Ukraine would master both France and Italy put
21:48together in a new year.
21:50So clearly the first option is going to have to come into play.
21:52They're going to have to look at the budget.
21:53The Irish presidency has already discussed this.
21:56They're going to look at it in the early stages.
21:58We've got to start now.
21:59I think we're some distance away from Ukraine actually coming to that point.
22:03If it happens, they have a lot of issues to resolve in their own country, aside from the Russian conflict.
22:08But clearly the budget is going to have to be re-looked at.
22:10And it cannot mean a reduction of subsidies for farmers in Western Europe.
22:14But yet we've just discussed about how it's very difficult now to increase any budget because money is scarce.
22:20But what about this idea, Pekatoviti, of Ukraine potentially joining as a member, but as a first stage not getting
22:27access to any cap funding, to any farm subsidies?
22:30Would that be fair for Ukraine?
22:32I don't think it's fair.
22:33But on the other hand, we have to see that Ukraine is a unique, unique, unique country.
22:40And we have to find a unique solution for it.
22:42I'm the chair of the Ukraine delegation here in the EU parliament.
22:45I have met them a lot.
22:47We have discussed with the Ukrainian farmers a lot.
22:50And they always remind that they don't want to be the ones who block Ukraine's possible EU membership.
22:59And they also point out that before the Russian attack, over 90 percent of Ukraine's farming production, agricultural production, went
23:07outside Europe.
23:08And they want to continue that.
23:11And then when we look at the size, you know, already the cap has, the suggestion for the cap has
23:17limits on how, you know, on the size of the farms, that bigger farms don't get any support.
23:22In Finland, the medium, the small to medium farms are around 80 hectares.
23:27In Ukraine, there are 2,000 hectares.
23:30It's a totally different thing.
23:31We can't use our own rules, current rules on Ukraine.
23:37But any solution, I guess, cannot discriminate against Ukrainian farmers.
23:42And it means that if there's no agreement on increasing the budget, then everyone could see cuts.
23:47You're saying that that would be politically untenable?
23:49I think it would be untenable at such a time as we have standards in Ukraine.
23:53That's the first issue.
23:54Now, more than Mercosur countries, we know nothing about their production standards, their auditing, their testing, their animal testing, their
23:59animal welfare issues.
24:01At the moment, we certainly don't believe they're on European standards.
24:03That's the first issue you've got to resolve.
24:05So I believe it could be the way forward to come in without access to cap initially.
24:09That certainly is an option that the Irish presidency, I'm sure, could look at, and indeed in future years.
24:14But the bottom line here is, going forward, you know, we have voted, I voted against the Mercosur trade deal
24:19for one simple issue.
24:20Because of the issue Peck has mentioned, the scale of farming in Brazil is off the charts compared to the
24:24normal European farmer.
24:26Four and five thousand hectares of land across thousands and thousands of miles.
24:30It's just not comparable.
24:32Therefore, we need a different system in terms of looking at how we support them.
24:36We're certainly not going to support them per hectare.
24:38Yet Ukraine, if I may, is being framed as a geopolitical necessity to integrate them into the EU.
24:45Do you fear that this issue of farming could be a major stumbling block?
24:49We can't allow it to be.
24:51It's a big challenge.
24:52But we had a big challenge when Poland joined the EU.
24:55And now they have increased their GDP for 16 percent.
24:59They are the military power of Eastern Europe, very important for our defense.
25:03When you talk about Ukraine, they had a good point the last time we talked with the Ukrainian farmers,
25:08was that if they have to go immediately to the EU standards, that means 150 euros per hectare more production
25:15cost,
25:16which means that they can't compete in the global market anymore.
25:19And if we do that, if we demand that, then we have to substitute them as European farmers.
25:24Other solutions might be, OK, those companies which are importing outside, exporting outside Europe,
25:31maybe they can continue with the non-EU standards.
25:35And those who plan to import to Europe, they have to follow the standards.
25:39Well, that would suddenly be unprecedented for the EU.
25:42We'll see.
25:42Well, we have a living in different times.
25:44We have to find different solutions.
25:45Indeed, indeed.
25:46Thank you so much.
25:48It's now time for us to move on to our fifth and final round.
25:55And in our last round, we do something a little different.
25:58I'm going to ask you a series of questions.
26:01And I require a one-word answer, yes or no.
26:05Are you ready?
26:06Sure.
26:07We'll do our best.
26:08Let me start with you, Pekka Toveri.
26:09Should the EU maintain farmers' subsidies at the same level as previous years?
26:18Yes.
26:19Yes.
26:19And you?
26:20Yes, with the inflation added.
26:21OK.
26:22Should farmers do more to tackle climate change?
26:25I think farmers are doing yes.
26:27Yes.
26:29Does Ursula von der Leyen, the Commission Chief, have farmers' interests at heart?
26:34Yes.
26:35No, I'm afraid.
26:36Is the Mercosur free trade deal an existential threat to European farmers?
26:41Absolutely, yes.
26:42No.
26:43Should consumers expect to pay more to support European farmers, to pay more in the supermarkets?
26:50No.
26:51Less production will mean higher prices.
26:53Yes.
26:54Is Europe losing its food sovereignty?
26:57Yes, really, because of the trade deals.
27:00No.
27:01And finally, is the EU risking, at least, leaving farmers behind?
27:07Yes, is the problem.
27:08But that budget?
27:09No.
27:10OK.
27:10Very interesting.
27:11Many points of disagreement there at the end.
27:13But thank you so much to you both for a very lively debate here in the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
27:19We hope to have you back on The Ring very soon.
27:22But that brings this edition to an end.
27:24Thank you again, Kieran Muloli.
27:25Thank you, Pekka Toveri.
27:27And, of course, thank you to our audience at home.
27:30Remember, you can continue the conversation by sending us your feedback and comments to The Ring at Euronews.com.
27:37In the meantime, take care and stay with us here on Euronews.
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