- 10 hours ago
Czołgi kontra traktory: czy UE wciąż zapewnia rolnikom parasol polityczny? Debata w „The Ring”
Trudne rozmowy o nowym budżecie UE, ambicje Ukrainy i drożejące nawozy znów stawiają rolników w centrum polityki. Czy UE ich uspokoi, gdy priorytetem są obrona i handel? Europosłowie dyskutują w „The Ring”.
CZYTAJ WIĘCEJ : http://pl.euronews.com/2026/07/14/czolgi-kontra-traktory-czy-ue-wciaz-zapewnia-rolnikom-parasol-polityczny-debata-w-the-ring
Zasubskrybuj nasz kanał.Euronews jest dostępny na Dailymotion w 12 językach
Trudne rozmowy o nowym budżecie UE, ambicje Ukrainy i drożejące nawozy znów stawiają rolników w centrum polityki. Czy UE ich uspokoi, gdy priorytetem są obrona i handel? Europosłowie dyskutują w „The Ring”.
CZYTAJ WIĘCEJ : http://pl.euronews.com/2026/07/14/czolgi-kontra-traktory-czy-ue-wciaz-zapewnia-rolnikom-parasol-polityczny-debata-w-the-ring
Zasubskrybuj nasz kanał.Euronews jest dostępny na Dailymotion w 12 językach
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
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 heat waves are
01:26also adding 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 into national envelopes.
02:17Pekka Toveri, a Finnish MEP from the Central-Right 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, the 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 Pekki Toveri, welcome.
02:48Thank you so much for being with us. Great to have you.
02:50Very, very relevant topic. Farmers back in the political spotlight.
02:54Let 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. I think that's the first issue.
03:08And I think Nneka will probably 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 that there is an agreement across the board among the
03:19member states that food security is still very important.
03:21So I really hope they will. It will be a question of how we balance the books on this issue.
03:25Where will the deficit come from? Because farmers cannot cope with a loss of 20 to 24 percent in their
03:31subsidies.
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 defense and security threats.
03:43We know about the budget needed to fund those defense 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 68 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 defense.
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.
04:29But the commission chief, Ursula von der Leyen, did propose a 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 program, 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.
04:52But where it could go in terms of replacing Irish farmers and French farmers and Finnish farmers, for that matter,
04:57in the markets going down the line.
04:58So it's a combination, really, of what I believe is is an excessive rush to sign up trade deals alongside
05:04the cap package at the moment.
05:06But let's be straight about this. If 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 percent cut, it could take the food literally out of 23 million people's mouth over
05:41the course of seven years.
05:42Now, nobody wants that. Indeed. I want to pick up on what you said about the Mercosur, a free trade
05:48deal.
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. You have to remember, true to my background, I'm a big picture guy.
06:05Farming is very important for Europe, but from the EU's economy, it's 1.2 percent.
06:10Still, we use about 30 percent of our budget to support farming, where that money comes.
06:14It comes from the 98.8 percent of other trade and industry, which is providing that money.
06:20Mercosur was 94 percent of anything else but agriculture.
06:24So, only 6 percent was agriculture and 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 by not only by Russia and
06:33China, but 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 have Mercosur was the lack of equivalence.
06:43We're looking at two member states producing food on a different system in Brazil without the standards, without the testing,
06:51without the orders.
06:51We found that out. That'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 in EPP or all the French and Polish maps voted against
07:17it.
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? Because there's elections coming and nobody wants to give any room for any populist party bringing in the farmers'
07:33votes.
07:33So, the strategic picture, the big picture is thrown away because of narrow national political issues.
07:41The 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.
07:51The 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.
08:04So, we have to prepare and make sure that the whole food production chain is protected and the prices are
08:14adequate 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. That'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, I know, and it's often used that Europe is now going for tanks instead
08:43of tractors.
08:43This is thrown out. But 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. At that point in time, 72% of the European budget was spent
08:57on agriculture.
08:58It's now down to 20%, 25%. And while I understand, and there's a balance to be hit here, I understand
09:04the world has changed.
09:05The geopolitical events have happened. And 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? And 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?
09:44Well, 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.
10:52Okay, 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.
10:59I 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.
11:16So let's start with you, Pekka Toveri, your 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. Competitiveness is a new budget, and it's important.
11:41I read the Mario Draghi report like everybody else, but it's 450 billion. It'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. That'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? That'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. Kieran 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. I also respect the work you've done as a former general and your own professional career.
12:26But I suppose I would argue that when one looks around Europe and even at Finland,
12:30where, you know, in recent 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.
12:39That's food on the table.
12:41So what I would argue to you is that your domestic agenda should be seen on a par
12:45with any concerns 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,
13:02a couple of weeks without food, without electricity much, much longer.
13:05So, yes, food security is very important, important for our security.
13:09And we have to safeguard that. And again, the money have 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,
13:25and make it easier, less bureaucracy, less restrictions for the farmers,
13:30so that they can concentrate what they are doing the best, bringing food to table.
13:34Your second question now to MEP, Kieran Maloldi.
13:36So, the real crisis is not only funding.
13:39It is that young people are living farming, as we discussed already.
13:42If you had to choose, would you prioritise supporting existing farms
13:45or 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 as we 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,
14:18where we have a lot of young farmers coming in who need to get investment for new machinery,
14:21to 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
14:34that he is going to prioritise 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 Maloldi, your final question.
14:45Yeah.
14:45I suppose, in general, Europe has managed to increase the defence expenditure dramatically.
14:50So, I can understand.
14:51And 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 the Council of Ministers, when the ministers meet, is it a lack
15:05of understanding of agriculture,
15:07or is it perhaps a lack of a will to contribute to farming ahead, as I say, of pressing defence
15:16issues at the moment?
15:17Well, I think that the big challenge is that we are working too much on the silos, that we don't
15:23look at this as a broad problem as it is.
15:26Because farming is much more than just a cap.
15:29We have to take care of the regulation and other actions so that, as I mentioned before, that we have
15:37affordable energy for farmers, we have affordable fertilisers for the farmers, etc.
15:44And when we look at the defence, well, the fact is that the major burden on the defence 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 so that we would do this
16:02strategically.
16:03You know, creating environment for farming in 10 years' time, in 20 years' time is also functioning the same when
16:10we are building our defence capabilities.
16:12Same thing. If you don't have a good plan, how are you going to use the money?
16:16And it's the same in the defence industry.
16:18There's a lot of things we can do without throwing money in the defence industry by just taking down the
16:23regulations and our legislative restrictions we have.
16:28And there, the biggest problem is the member states because, again, the narrow national political interests come to play.
16:36And there's always somebody out of 27 who said that, well, we can't allow this and this legislation to change
16:41because of the 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 instead of dealing with their responsibilities as
16:55the larger member states.
16:56Well, yes, I agree. Coming 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.
17:14I'd like to pivot now to consider the impact of climate change on European farming communities and bring in Teresa
17:22Ribeira, the European Commission vice president for a clean, just and competitive transition.
17:27In an interview with The Guardian last week, she was asked about the recent heat waves that have struck many
17:32parts of Europe, of course.
17:33She said, I am tired of hearing people don't back the Green Deal anymore.
17:38It's not true. People prefer to ensure fresh water that is not polluted, breathe clean air or count on a
17:45healthy ecosystem than having polluted water or no capacity to ensure crops and harvest.
17:52There 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? Has the Green Deal now been demonized?
18:08And I will press you here, have farmers played a role in that?
18:10I think farmers have played a key role in this. I totally reject what the commissioner says, by the way.
18:15The facts are that farmers have been the custodians of the environment for generations.
18:19I mean, if you just deal with this in terms of common sense, what the commissioner says in terms of
18:23water quality, it's not in the interest of a farmer to have polluted water in the river at the end
18:28of his farm, thereby causing a threat to his own animals.
18:30It threatens his own industry. And for generations, my family and others have defended the environment.
18:35We played our part in the environmental schemes. The issue for us is that when we're spending more on the
18:40environmental schemes than we're spending on basic food production and generational renewal, that's when it becomes a problem.
18:45Would you agree? Have farmers been targeted too much in this debate around the Green Deal?
18:50Yeah, I do agree. I do agree. You know, at least in Finland, where the farm sizes are much smaller
18:57than in Central Europe, for example, you know, they have lived there for centuries.
19:02They know the nature. Finns love the nature. They want to protect. They don't want to destroy anything just for
19:07farming.
19:10And we have a lot of problems. And we have to remember that one size doesn't fit all. You know,
19:15when you look at the solution, because Finland is Arctic country, totally different place to farming than in southern Spain,
19:21for 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. And one solution, in my opinion, is not
19:36to go these big, giant industrial farms with thousands of hectares because those companies don't care so much about the
19:42environment.
19:43Interesting point of agreement there. But it's time now for me to take us to a break here on the
19:49Ring. But we'll be back with more after this. Stay with us.
20:01Welcome back to The Ring, Euronews' weekly debate show. I'm Marit Gwynn, and I'm joined today by Kieran Maloli from
20:08the Centrist Renew Europe Group and Pekka Toveri from the 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. So 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.
21:14So, a very sensitive and political debate here. But first you, Kieran Maloli. Ukraine joining the EU, is this good
21:23or bad news for farmers?
21:24Well, let me say firstly, I represent the farmers in Ireland, so I'm opposed full stop to reduction in our
21:31subsidies 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.
21:49So, clearly, the first option is going to have to come into play. They're going to have to look at
21:53the budget.
21:54The Irish presidency has already discussed this. They're going to look at it in the early stages.
21:58We've got to start now. I 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, and it cannot mean a reduction of
22:12subsidies 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, Pekatovery, 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, but on the other hand, we have to see that Ukraine is a 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. I have met them a lot. We have
22:47discussed 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% of Ukraine's farming production, agricultural production, went
23:07outside Europe.
23:08And they want to continue that. And then when we look at the size, you know, already the cap has,
23:15the suggestion for the cap has limits on how, you know, on the size of the farms that bigger farms
23:21don't get any support.
23:22In Finland, the small to medium farms are around 80 hectares. In Ukraine, there are 2,000 hectares.
23:30It's a totally different thing. We 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 it would be untenable at such a time as we have standards in Ukraine.
23:53That's the first issue. Now, more than Mercosur countries, we know nothing about their production standards, their auditing, their testing,
23:59their animal testing, their animal 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. So I believe it could be the way forward to come in
24:08without 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 vote. I voted against the Mercosur trade deal
24:19for one simple issue because of the issue.
24:20Peck has mentioned the scale of farming in Brazil is off the charts compared to the normal European farmer.
24:25Four and five thousand hectares of land across thousands and thousands of miles. It's just not comparable.
24:31Therefore, we need a different system in terms of looking at how we support them. We're certainly not going to
24:37support them per hectare.
24:37Yet Ukraine, if I may, is it's 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. It's a big challenge. But we had a big challenge when Poland joined the
24:55EU and now they have increased their GDP for 16 percent.
24:59They are the military power of Eastern 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 that
25:09if they have to go immediately to the EU standards, that means 150 euros per hectare more production cost, which
25:16means 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, maybe they can continue with the
25:34non-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. We'll see.
25:42Well, we have a living in different times. We have to find different solutions.
25:45Indeed. Indeed. Thank you so much. It'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 and I require a one word answer.
26:04Yes or no. Are you ready?
26:06Sure. We'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. And you?
26:20Yes, with the inflation. Add it.
26:21OK.
26:22Should farmers do more to tackle climate change?
26:25I think farmers are doing, yes.
26:28Yes.
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, yes.
26:54Is Europe losing its food sovereignty?
26:57Yes, really, because of the trade deals.
27:00No.
27:01No.
27:01And finally, is the EU risking at least leaving farmers behind?
27:06Yes, 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
27:18in 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
27:35to The Ring at Euronews.com.
27:37In the meantime, take care and stay with us here on Euronews.
Comments