CAP fear grows as Blair reveals budget plan

BRITISH Prime Minister Tony Blair won the support of the new member states for his restructuring of the EU budget which Ireland and France fear will interfere with the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP).

However, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern warned that getting agreement on the EU’s seven-year multi-billion euro budget in December could be very difficult. He insisted the CAP should not be interfered with and made a strong case for protecting Europe’s food industry, emphasising the need for safe food.

During the day-long meeting in Hampton Court, French President Jacques Chirac threatened to veto a WTO deal if it interfered with the CAP.

EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson is expected to propose cutting tariffs on food imports during talks between core countries today.

At yesterday’s informal meeting outside London, Mr Blair and Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso made a strong case to set new priorities for the EU which would form the basis for agreeing the budget at the end of the year.

Mr Blair emphasised the need to meet the challenges posed by globalisation and suggested setting new priorities around ensuring future energy supplies through a common EU energy policy, resolving immigration issues through greater cooperation and setting up a fund to help retrain and find new jobs for workers in Europe that lose their livelihoods because of globalisation.

Most leaders felt his proposals were long on aspirations but short on detail.

Mr Blair, chairing the meeting in his role as President of the European Council, refused to allow any direct discussion on the budget. He is insisting that new priorities be agreed before they try to agree spending for 2006-2013.

The Hungarian Prime Minister, Ferenc Gyurcsany, told journalists that his nation and 11 other countries in receipt of EU cohesion funds were drawing up proposals for the budget in line with Mr Blair’s ideas.

The Prime Minister of Slovenia, Janez Jansa, said he believed the chances of getting agreement on the budget were now much better. “All the right issues were raised,” he said.

Mr Jansa said the British presidency had succeeded in making member states aware of the need to restructure the budget.

Mr Jansa added there was support for the Commission suggestion that 1% of the money being redirected from directed payments under CAP to rural development should instead be used in areas such as research.

The Taoiseach was sceptical of the new priorities approach. He said he had no difficulty in spending more money on research and development but it must not interfere with the CAP.

“The quality of food and the standard and safety of food has been one of the great successes of Europe and we should hold onto that. Whether they will all want to be eating R&D is another thing,” he said.

He added that getting agreement on the budget was an imperative but warned the six weeks remaining to the next summit in December was not very long to achieve this.

“It’s not going to be easy,” Mr Ahern added.

Mr Chirac made it clear that France was not prepared to move past the agreed changes to the CAP and the adjustments offered in the World Trade talks last week.

“That is our red line. We are not moving an inch and we will block it in December if necessary,” he said, referring to the Hong Kong WTO round due to be finalised in December.