Farmers warn EU not to unravel reforms

Dublin: The umbrella bodies for European farmers and agricultural co-ops have called on EU leaders to ensure that the agricultural reforms they have recently agreed are not unravelled in the world trade talks.

COPA and COGECA’s respective presidents Peter Gaemelke and Eduardo Baamonde expressed their great concern about the letter that the European Commission sent to all WTO members this week, offering total elimination of export subsidies for European farming.

“Despite the fact that the European Commission’s policy of offering concessions ahead of negotiations has failed each and every time to gain any response from trading partners, once again concessions are being offered in agriculture with absolutely no guarantee of obtaining anything in return” the presidents said in a statement.