Walsh leads battle against Fischler reform proposals
Ministers from France, Spain and Italy echoed his concerns after he blasted decoupling and warned of depopulation of livestock herds.
Backing him, France's Herve Gaymard said, "We have to be aware of the disastrous consequences decoupling would have on our outermost regions. I regret the Commission is sticking to its original proposals".
"What we have before us is a very risky proposal. I am very disappointed and very negative," said Spain's Minister Miguel Arias Canete.
Portugal and Italy also spoke out against decoupling breaking the historic link between subsidies and farm production.
But there were early signs of compromise among the Friends of Farming. Ministers from Spain, Portugal, Italy and Luxembourg have already suggested "partial decoupling" as a way towards a compromise, saying subsidy linkages to production could be retained in some sectors and abandoned in others.
Commissioner Franz Fischler got support for his proposals from the UK, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark and Germany, who even considered that Mr Fischler had backtracked from earlier and stronger positions.
"These proposals are daring but necessary. They will cause some pain and give rise to opposition," said Cees Veerman, of the Netherlands.
"I broadly welcome the proposals and where I have criticisms, it's mainly because the Commission hasn't been so ambitious," said Britain's Margaret Beckett. "We believe decoupling would be a massive advance for the EU."
There were signs that Greece's EU Presidency will not be anxious to speed up CAP reform, after statements opposing free trade zone, emphasising rural support.
The Greeks have warned against the CAP breaking into national agricultural policies, leading to chaos and injustice. "The abolition of CAP would destroy millions of small and medium sized farms", said the Athens Government.
Farm Commissioner Franz Fischer faces an uphill struggle to complete negotiations on reform in time for a June EU summit in the Greek city of Salonika.
With Italy next and then Ireland assuming the EU six month presidency, his timing may be unfortunate if he is depending on strong support from the presidency member states. However, he is likely to get a confidence booster next May, when the European Parliament gives its opinion on CAP reform..
