Brussels, 11/06/2003 (Agence Europe) - After their meeting in Berlin on Tuesday French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder said they had instructed their farming ministers, Hervé Gaymard and Renate Kûnast respectively, to find wording that can make possible a successful Agriculture Council on reforming the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Schröder said the two countries would agree to negotiate partial "decoupling" of direct aid to farmers from 2006 on despite the countries disagreeing on the modalities.
At the 26/27 May Council, Germany agreed to full, gradual decoupling over five years in the form of surface area premiums, while France (fiercely opposed to full decoupling of aid and a single surface area premium) said that they would consider a partially decoupled system as long as it were optional and regional. France also opposes reduction in aid, unlike Germany which recommends a linear rate to make savings and possibly fund future reforms.
After his meeting with Chirac, Schröder said the two countries valued the Franco-German compromise struck at the Brussels European Council in October 2002, removing the deadlock on funding the CAP in an enlarged EU. Schröder said Paris and Berlin had both pledged to take account of the other's economic interests, such as French farming and German industry. He said the CAP reform means taking account of Member States' farming interests but also making the reforms needed to avoid jeopardising the WTO negotiations in Cancun in September. Asked on Tuesday about the impact of a potential Franco-German compromise on reforming the CAP, Commission Frank Fischler's spokesperson said this simply could not be predicted because two Member States agreeing on a specific political issue did not mean the other 13 would automatically follow suit.
Fischler: "No lame compromises"
In a press release published on Tuesday Fischler said agreement at the Council on reform was "possible" He warned against any "lame compromises" and spoke of the serious impact of a negotiations failing over the EU's position for the Cancun summit saying this would be send the worst possible signal that could be given to the economy in a downturn and those opposing reform would have to accept responsibility for this.