Vol. 556 No. 5
1 Mr. Timmins asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the situation with respect to the Fischler proposals; if implemented, the way in which these would impact on future projections of the number of farm families; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20916/02]
The outline proposals which were published by the European Commission on 10 July 2002 as a communication on the mid-term review of the Common Agricultural Policy were discussed at the Council of Ministers in July, September and October.
At the Brussels European Council on 24 and 25 October, the EU Heads of State and Government decided on the funding for agriculture in a Union of 25 until 2013. This decision was without prejudice to the results of the mid-term review. The examination of the Commission's communication will, accordingly, continue in the Council of Ministers and the Commission's detailed proposals will be published in the coming months. However, there is unlikely to be a qualified majority in the Council for the implementation of significant change in the CAP before 2007.
I have already stated in the Council that I will not agree to changes in the Agenda 2000 agreement which will impact negatively on the Irish agriculture and food industry. In these circumstances, I do not expect that these proposals will have adverse impact on the number of farm families in Ireland.
A Cheann Comhairle, can you confirm that Question Time will finish at 4.15 p.m.?
That is correct. There is a Private Notice Question.
That is regrettable, and I will write to your office later. We get an opportunity one week in five to table questions and we have only 45 minutes today. That is most disturbing. Each day there should be at least 60 minutes for Question Time.
The Deputy will appreciate that the Standing Order was discussed in the House last week and it was agreed that when there is a Private Notice Question on Thursdays, it will be taken at 4.15 p.m.
I thank the Minister for his reply. Will he agree that when the concept of the mid-term reform was floated by Mr. Fischler, it caused a lot of distortion and anxiety, it had an impact on the market in that people were purchasing in anticipation that they could build up premia payments as a reserve to be taken into consideration for future EU payments and it may have caused a difficulty with land rent? There were two Council meetings in September and October, yet the farming community is no wiser with respect to these proposals. Hardly a day goes that I do not get correspondence from someone asking what is the position.
Is the Minister saying that the Fischler proposals are finished with until 2007, that there will be no change to the Agenda 2000 agreement? Will he agree that all this concept of floating ideas does is give rise to a lack of confidence in EU policy? Will the Minister agree that if the EU Commission was a company quoted on the stock market which carried out the same practices and floated the same information, perhaps it would be up on charges of unethical behaviour and unfair trading, and that it is unacceptable that he has stood by without taking on the Commission in this matter?
In the Berlin agreement on Agenda 2000 in March 1999 there was provision for a mid-term review. What caused consternation and anxiety among the farming and agriculture industry throughout the European Union was that instead of a review proposals were put on the table by Commissioner Fischler which envisaged fundamental reform of the core principles of Agenda 2000. Immediately my response to those was that they were unacceptable, that we would not support them and, in particular, that two of the issues contained in the proposals, that is decoupling and modulation, were far beyond review and they were going into the core principles.
The up-to-date position is that the Heads of Government last month agreed upon the financial framework up to 2013 but the Fischler proposals are still on the table, but they are only proposals. As I stated in my reply, I am confident that there is not a qualified majority to get them through but they are still on the table.
Will the Minister confirm that he believes decoupling will not take place? Will he agree there is really no EU Commission policy at present because the EU is allowing non-EU commodities to flood the market, in grain and beef from Argentina? The purpose of these measures is purely political appeasement rather than protection of the aims of the Common Agricultural Policy as agreed when the treaties were initially signed.
I reiterate that I will not be a party to or support any aspect or elements of the proposals that would impact negatively on Ireland. The reason put forward by Commissioner Fischler for the proposal in the first place was to get in ahead of the WTO negotiations and, in relation to decoupling, to avoid challenge to the blue box direct payments in support of agriculture. We have met the French, in particular, in bilateral talks and we will ensure that the future of the CAP supporting multi-functional agriculture will remain the chief policy of Commissioner Fischler and the Commission.
