Commissioner & Minister Another attempt at CAP reform
It is the third week in a row the ministers have attempted to reach a deal. Several countries are holding out for significant changes.
The reform package has been debated for almost a year but real pressure is on to reach a deal this week.
Firstly, the Greeks - who have been chairing the talks - lose the European Presidency over the next few days.
Secondly, this is probably the last chance for the EU to change farm policy before crucial World Trade talks resume in September.
A deal on the radical reforms was in sight last Thursday. But Commissioner Franz Fischler annoyed the French and the Irish by cutting compensation to be paid in return for cuts in butter intervention and other dairy prices.
The spotlight is now on the French negotiators who are still holding out for improvement in both the current dairy and cereal proposals - views which are shared by the Irish.
Relations between the Commissioner and the French Minister deteriorated last week, but a spokesman for Mr Fischler said this morning he expects a deal this week.
There is now increased support among Irish farm groups for the most controversial proposal - decoupling - to break the link between what farmers produce and what they get in subsidies.
The Minister for Agriculture, Joe Walsh, said today that there are still major issues to be resolved in these complex negotiations, but that he was pushing for a positive outcome.
