Vol. 567 No. 5
182 Mr. Ferris asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food his views on the advantages of the decoupling element of the proposals in view of the most recent FAPRI report on the CAP reform proposals; and if this has altered the Government's position in relation to the ongoing negotiations on the proposals. [14290/03]
The recent FAPRI study has confirmed the findings of the previous FAPRI study, both of which I requested, that full decoupling would be likely to lead to a reduction in beef and sheepmeat production. However, due to a change in one of the underlying assumptions, the reduction is less than that forecast in the previous FAPRI study. I have stated my opposition to full decoupling in the Council of Agriculture Ministers because of the likely resultant reduction in production. That position remains unchanged.
