The Hague, 22/10/2002 (Agence Europe) - Continuing his European tour to outline reform proposals for the CAP, Agriculture Commissioner Franz Fischler told people making connections between reform of the CAP and the accession negotiations that they "should also have the courage to spell out what this means in practice: delaying enlargement" and illustrated why "the cost explosion predicted by some doomsayers will simply not happen." "I will not allow that agriculture becomes the scapegoat for those who want to turn the debate on enlargement into a pure "piggy-bank operation". A larger EU costs money. But the costs are manageable".
Fischler went on to say that support for Dutch farmers could be justified: "Not to finance beef mountains or milk lakes, not to distort international trade and hammer developing countries, but to ensure the quality and safety of our food, and the good management of our landscape and our livestock".