CAP modulation plan wins support
Brussels watchers were last week predicting the qualified majority support needed for this "modulation" proposal to be accepted.
Ireland has 55,200 farmers getting less than 5,000 per year from Brussels.
This is the threshold at which it is proposed Brussels would start clawing back direct aid payments from farmers, and divert them to pay for other elements of CAP Reform.
No farmer getting less than 5,000 per year would be affected by modulation.
Those getting 5,001 to 50,000 would face cuts rising from 1% in 2007 to 12.5% in 2013. In Ireland, 62,400 farmers, or 52% of those getting cheques-in-the-post, fall within this category.
Ireland has 6,000 farmers getting more than 50,000 per year. For this 2% segment, the proposed cuts rise from 1% in 2007 to 19% in 2013.
Of the money taken off direct payments to farmers, it is proposed that 1% in 2007, rising by a further 1% per year to reach 6% by 2012, will be made available to member states as additional EU support for rural development.
Modulation would raise additional rural development funds of 228 million in 2007, increasing to 1.48 billion in 2012.
These funds will be allocated between member states according to their agricultural area, and estimated earnings in agricultural employment.
A majority of EU member states are thought to still oppose decoupling of direct aid from production.
As the Brussels political chess game continued to be played out, Dr Fischler spelled out his timetable last week to Irish agricultural journalists.
He said the European Parliament has agreed to give the Commission its opinion on the proposals by the beginning of June and he hoped agreement would be reached at the Council of Farm Ministers by the end of that month.
He described discussions in the Council work groups as very constructive, but accepted that some member states are against his proposals.
Dr Fischler insisted it was wrong to suggest that the CAP reform is WTO driven; the EU wants the reform for internal reasons, he said.
He said the EU negotiation proposal at the WTO is based on Agenda 2000, and does not rely on the CAP reform.
Dr Fischler accepted, however, that agreement on the CAP reform proposals would give the EU a stronger negotiating position in the WTO trade talks.
Although Commissioner Fischler hopes to have his CAP proposals adopted by June, other Brussels sources were last week suggesting October or November as a more likely date.
