‘Gang of Four’ defeated

FARMERS have welcomed recent European Council and Parliament decisions which have weakened Commissioner Franz Fischler’s drive for an early reform of the Common Agricultural Policy.

The Commission has been given a strong message to focus on preparing the CAP development for the years 2007 to 2013, and to drop its plans for a 2004 reform, said the Presidents of COPA and COGECA, the farmer organisation and agricultural co-op groupings in Europe.

However, UK farm minister Margaret Beckett has reiterated her commitment to sweeping changes in the EU's farm policy, and said the recent decisions in Brussels could pave the way for reform, rather than knock it on the head.