Hansen was first asked about the arguably moderate results for him and his party in the latest politmonitor. Hansen explained that neither result came as a surprise, given the turmoil that CSV went through over the past couple of months: “I think people that are surprised by this result have not been following the news.”
The politician further explained that as an elected official in the north of Luxembourg, as well as someone tasked with European matters, it will always be difficult for him to increase his popularity on a national level.
The verdict in the trial against former party president Frank Engel will be announced on 9 December. Hansen expressed his hopes that this will be the end of the mud-slinging contest and that nobody will opt to appeal the court’s decision and drag out the affair even further.
Hansen was also asked about the planned agriculture reform in the European Parliament. The CSV politician explained that it was long overdue, given that the process was interrupted several times, as for instance when new elections were held and many representatives changed.
Nevertheless, after three years of debates, a compromise was found. Hansen commented that it was a balancing act, given that many actors in the field believe the reform is going too far, while environmentalists say it fails to go far enough.
Hansen then went into detail about the changes for the national agriculture sector following the EU reform. In general, subsides for farmers and winemakers will go up, but they will be bound to fulfilling environmental policies.
The MEP also noted that there is already significant pressure on the agricultural sector, given that Luxembourg’s population keeps increasing and given that since the pandemic, there has been a renewed desire to cultivate and buy locally grown produce.
Hansen was last asked about pressure from lobbyists, to which he replied that he only met with farmers’ association: “There were no lobbyists in my office and I’m not very keen on meeting with this mob.”
