France Thwarted In Farm Subsidy Dispute

by Ulrika Lomas, for LawAndTax-News.com, Brussels

20 October 2005

According to EU Trade Commissioner, Peter Mandelson, an attempt by the French government to secure more consultation with member states regarding the reduction of farm subsidies has failed.

Speaking following a meeting of foreign ministers on Tuesday, Mr Mandelson announced that:

"Nothing has changed. If the council had wanted to change the mandate it could have done so today."

The French government had called for an extraordinary meeting of the EU to be held on Tuesday to discuss the offer made last week by Mr Mandelson to cut farm subsidies.

Both the European Union and the United States pledged to reduce subsidies for their farming communities in order to restart international talks on trade liberalisation which have stalled as a result of disagreements on this issue.

Responding to the US offer earlier this month, Mr Mandelson had announced that the 25 nation bloc would be prepared to reduce aid to European agriculture by 70%, and to decrease import duties on farm produce by as much as 60%.

The French authorities, along with several other member states, had sought to force the European Commission to consult with a new technical committee regarding the likely impact of any future moves towards trade liberalisation.

However, reports in the European media revealed that the 13 original supporters of the proposal were reduced to just France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Hungary, Greece, Cyprus and Poland.

The group of countries, which could have blocked further trade discussions, opted instead to discuss the matter at a later date.

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