European Union agriculture ministers have decided to take a break from negotiations to reform the EU’s Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) and resume talks on Tuesday in the hope of reaching an agreement next week.
Negotiations to reform the agricultural subsidy system have divided the EU, although progress was reported this week. Farm ministers reportedly still have differing views on the key issue – the extent to which subsidies should be decoupled from production levels. The European Commission has proposed a complete decoupling, put many EU nations would prefer only a partial decoupling, reported Dow Jones Commodities Service.
A new compromise proposal would be drafted by the time the talks resume on Tuesday, according to an EU spokesman. The aim of the talks is to reach an agreement that will govern the subsidy system for at least a decade.
The spokesman said an agreement is needed in order to eventually cut the cost to the EU of its payments to farmers, which currently account for nearly half of the EU’s budget. Major problems have been forecast for the EU unless the CAP is reformed.
