Fischler quick to claim credit for CAP reform
He has three major reforms under his belt, two in farming and one on fisheries, where he introduced drastic cuts in catches.
Not surprisingly, the Austrian politician is not slow to claim credit for his latest negotiating breakthrough.
“This decision marks the beginning of a new era. Our farm policy will fundamentally change.”
“Today, Europe has given itself a new and effective farm policy,” he said, after 16 hours of non-stop negotiations.
The 56-year-old Austrian Commissioner has spent almost a year fighting for a root-and-branch overhaul of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
The one time Alpine farmer has turned on his former colleagues by weakening the subsidy-laden Policy, breaking the long-standing link between farm output and subsidy.
But as the holder since 1995 of the purse strings of almost half the EU’s entire annual budget of nearly €100 billion, Fischler has bigger fish to fry, namely the future of the EU in WTO negotiations and its enlargement to 25 member states.
He has emerged with the admiration of EU insiders for his political astuteness and drive, combined with a deft touch in negotiations where satisfying national pride is often the name of the game.
Last week, France almost derailed his CAP review.
But Fischler had seen it all before. In 1999, France’s President Chirac hijacked the summit of EU leaders in Berlin to water down Fischler’s Agenda 2000.
This time around, both Chirac and Fischler seem to be happy with the outcome.
