Farmers ‘will not be sacrificed’

EUROPEAN farmers will not be offered up as a sacrifice to get the right overall result in the world trade talks.

That pledge was given during an address in India by European Agriculture and Rural Development Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel.

It came as the Irish Farmers’ Association stepped up its criticism of the EU’s chief negotiator, Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson, who is due to visit Dublin next week.

IFA President Padraig Walshe said he had discovered from meetings and trade contacts in Washington that Mr Mandelson has secretly offered American ranchers a deal that would allow them to send 35,000 tonnes of beef into Europe (equivalent to 100,000 head of cattle).

“This offer must be withdrawn immediately. Mandelson must be stopped in his tracks,” he said.

Meanwhile, Independent MEP Marian Harkin said she had been questioning Mr Mandelson’s tactics and his willingness to exceed his mandate as far as agriculture is concerned.

She said she arranged for IFA leaders to meet the respective leaders of the agriculture committees in the US Congress, Senator Tom Harkin and Colin Petersen, during a visit to Washington last week.

World Trade Organisation chief Pascal Lamy said the trade talks need to be concluded quickly to succeed. His comments relate to the fact the authority of US President George W Bush to make trade deals that can be sent to Congress for a simple yes-or-no vote expires at the end of June.