In Hungary, oligarchs have established a secure stronghold in the agricultural industry. Farmers are left to toil in the fields while political patrons give jobs and aid to the compliant and punish the mutinous. Interestingly, these landowners are financed by the European Union.
Hungry receive $65 billion in farm subsidies from the EU annually. This program is centered around the policy that people get paid based on the amount of land they own. These expenses are meant to support farmers and help stabilize Europe's food supply, however, political patrons have begun to exploit this program. According to a New York Times investigation, this subsidy system is plagued by corruption and self-dealing.
Despite the fact that this program is among the largest in the world, accounting for 40% of the EU's expenditures in their overall budget, politicians in Brussels maintain that they have no idea where the money goes once distributed.
According to another Times investigation, the prime minister of Hungary uses these subsidies from the EU "as a patronage system that enriches his friends and family, protects his political interests and punishes his rivals". This strengthens a system where those that control the land, receive millions in subsidies from the EU. Many of these land deals benefit select groups of political insiders, who auction off land to political allies and family members. Many use this money to amass political power in their respective countries.
Similarly, in the Czech Republic, the prime minister is known to be the highest-profile subsidy recipient. He is a billionaire agriculturalist and last year received over $42 million in subsidies alone.
In Bulgaria, 75% of the subsidies end up in the hands of 100 entities. Uncovering corrupt ties between government officials and agricultural businessmen has been the prime objective of Bulgarian authorities in recent months. In Slovakia, farmers have been reported to be beaten and exhorted for land that receives valuable subsidies.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/03/world/europe/eu-farm-subsidy-hungary.html
This is the first time I have heard of this problem related to Hungary. In the past I have heard of the Russian Oligarchs who don't necessarily milk the European Union for money, but are extremely wealthy, and partake in similar actions to those of the Hungarian ones. This system sounds much like an oligopoly to me because of the small number of "sellers", being the oligarchs, and the fact that unless your a friend of the Prime Minister you aren't getting entrance to the "market".
ReplyDelete