Brussels, 27/02/2012 (Agence Europe) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy, said on Friday 24 February that progress had been made in talks on the common agricultural policy (CAP) budget. “Because of our insistence, the Commission proposed in July 2011 to keep the CAP budget the same in current euro. That was no small victory. Some countries wanted the Commission to propose a 30% reduction in the CAP budget”, he stated, adding: “The starting point now is the same budget in current euro. This is huge progress! Some countries may very well look to re-debate the issue. However, the Commission proposal strengthens our position. And you may be sure France will fiercely oppose any attempt to reduce the CAP budget”. He said that France would have to be vigilant over agricultural aid “so as to maintain the legitimacy of the CAP”. If the CAP is not fair, it will be challenged by public opinion. “I was the first to propose a debate on re-allocating aid among the various states”, Sarkozy said. He stated that the proposal tabled on rebalancing aid “removed the option of single per hectare aid across Europe”. He argued that a flat-rate aid of this sort would have ruined French farmers. The Commission is proposing to rebalance aid over five years. “That's much too short a timescale. My next objective is to win extension of this transition period. Overall, however, the battle is well underway”, he said. (LC/transl.rt)