Oxfam under fire over EU claims

OXFAM has been accused by an Irish member of the European Parliament of joining the simplistic “Blair Camp” on the future of agricultural policy and support within the European Union.

Máiread McGuinness was responding to a claim by the agency that the EU, despite a supposed breakthrough reform offer, will not have to reduce the amount of money it pays its farmers by a single euro.

The clash occurred against a background of growing Irish concern that the EU negotiators in the world trade talks, led by Trade Commisioner Peter Mandleston, are losing ground on agriculture at an alarming rate in the run up to the Hong Kong WTO ministerial meeting in December.

Celine Charveriat, Head of Oxfam International’s Make Trade Fair Campaign, earlier claimed that the EU offer on trade reform was an example of empty vessels making the most noise.

“There is little here that we haven’t seen before and it seems more like creative accounting than radical reform. The European Commission, under pressure from certain member states, has even failed to propose an end date for export subsidies, which is something that should have been agreed and acted on years ago,” she said.

Ms Charveriat added: “It’s a case of the emperor’s new clothes. The EU, like the US, is simply proposing to move payments from one place to another, rather than reduce them. We’re very concerned that the losers from this renaming game will be poor country farmers.”

But the Ireland East MEP Máiread McGuinness responded that the EU proposals for reform of agriculture support at the WTO include increased market access, reduced tariffs and the elimination of export refunds.

“These are major concessions by the EU and any suggestion from Oxfam to cut the decoupled payments to farmers is unwelcome and dangerous.

“I would challenge Oxfam to prove its hypothesis that removing these decoupled payments from EU farmers will make poorer farmers better off.”

Ms McGuinness said there is a real and significant threat to EU agriculture in the WTO talks. Pressure must be brought the bear on Mr Mandleson and Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel to protect the position of farmers against unbridled access to the EU markets by non-member states.

“What the developing world needs is market access and the benefits of high EU prices. But these prices can only be maintained by market management and not by unlimited access to EU markets.”

Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association president Malcolm Thompson said he was gravely concerned that Commissioner Mandleson was failing to fulfil his mandate to defend the EU position on agriculture.

Mr Thompson also called on Taoiseach Bertie Ahern to put pressure on all other EU leaders to ensure that Britain conducts its presidency of the Union in a responsible way that reflects the concerns of all member states.