EC holds firm on sugar reforms

THE European Commission held firmly to its radical sugar reform proposals at a Council of Agricultural Ministers meeting in Luxembourg yesterday, but a blocking minority of 10 countries increased to 11 with Poland joining the ranks of member states opposed to the moves.

Agriculture Minister Mary Coughlan had a trilateral meeting with EU Farm Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel and the current Council of Ministers president, Britain’s Margaret Beckett, and also took part in a meeting of the blocking minority of which Ireland is a member.

She earlier said that while the need for reform is acknowledged, she considered the current proposals unbalanced and unacceptable. They go beyond the principles of previous CAP reforms and could lead to drastic consequences for the sugar beet industry in a number of member states, including Ireland.