European Commission refers Hungary to EU court over farmland law

By bne IntelliNews June 16, 2016

The European Commission (EC) has refered Hungary to the Court of Justice of the European Union of failure to comply with EU regulations on the rights of foreign investors to buy agricultural land, the EU executive announced on June 16.

Brussels has long expressed raised concern over a law passed in 2013 that deprives foreign and domestic investors of their rights to use of land without providing compensation. The commission had sent a letter of formal notice in October 2014, and a reasoned opinion in June 2015 requesting Hungary to bring the rules in line with EU law.

The ruling Fidesz party argues that the law is needed to "promote the interests of Hungarian farmers against foreign speculation." It terminated those contracts that had allowed foreign investors to buy farmland in the country through Hungarian middle-men.

While the original contracts were subject to a 20-year transitional period, the law shortened this to four and a half months. The contracts were terminated on 1 May 2014.

“The commission maintains that, among other things, the very short period between the publication of the legislation and its date of application was not sufficient to give investors the opportunity to adapt to the new legal environment,” the executive said in a statement. It added that the law violates the principles of free movement of capital and freedom of establishment.

 

 

 

 

Read in IntelliNews Pro
Get IntelliNews Pro

Related Articles

UniCredit sees modest growth and fiscal overshoot for Hungary in 2024

Hungary’s economic rebound will be modest this year, around 2%, and the return to potential growth is set to be postponed to 2025 with GDP expanding around 3.2%, according to UniCredit bank's ... more

Raiffeisen Bank profit rises over €260mn in Hungary

more

Intesa Sanpaolo’s Hungarian unit closes record year in 2023

CIB realised a record HUF64bn (€160mn) in after-tax profit, up from HUF36.1bn a year ago, which translates to a robust 21.5% ROE, the Hungarian unit of Intesa Sanpaolo said on March 26.  ... more

Follow Us On

Most Read

  1. Ukraine's birth rate plummets to 300-year low as country’s population collapses
    6 days ago
  2. Fresh evidence suggests that the April 2022 Istanbul peace deal to end the war in Ukraine was stillborn
    7 days ago
  3. EU finally boosts defence investment into arms production as Ukraine runs out of ammo
    1 month ago
  4. Russia’s war economy boosted by rising oil prices
    8 days ago
  5. Russia’s $13.4bn current account surplus in March second highest since 2007
    7 days ago
  1. Russia could pay off its entire external debt tomorrow, in cash
    24 days ago
  2. Speculation swirls of “Men in Blue” in Crocus City Hall terrorist attack linked to FSB
    29 days ago
  3. Albanians campaign on social media to keep bus bridge created in freak accident
    1 year ago
  4. BRICS announce a blockchain-based payment system to create a common currency
    27 days ago
  5. UBN: Russia could take the Baltic states in 48 hours
    1 month ago

Reports

Dismiss