Andrew Duff says that UK Government should accept rebate reduction in return for Co-Financing deal with French
10.00.00am GMT Mon 21st Nov 2005
In a statement today, Liberal Democrat Euro MP Andrew DUFF calls on the UK government to overhaul its strategy on EU financing by putting the CAP on an equal footing with other common policies.
"Failure to settle the row over future EU spending will paralyse the European Union and diminish its clout in crucial world trade negotiations. The British government, which chairs the Council meeting today, needs to overhaul its strategy in order to broker agreement. It should stop its empty bleating about reform of the common agriculture policy and admit that the CAP is already undergoing radical reform in a package of measures already agreed to by Tony Blair in 2002. No sugar farmer in the East of England, faced with a price cut of 39 per cent, is in any doubt about the pace or force of current CAP reform.
"The key to the future financing of the EU budget is to put the CAP on an equal footing with other common policies. At present, farming is the only European common policy that is paid for exclusively by Brussels. All other policies, such as R&D, social policy and regional development, are co-financed by the EU and national governments, working together. Co-financing the CAP would cut the burden on EU spending dramatically, and would immediately create a fairer balance between France and the UK in terms of net receipts.
"No tinkering at the edges will resolve the problem of structural imbalance of the EU budget. France and the other rich net beneficiaries of the CAP should be obliged to accept a phased introduction of co-financing.
"In return, Labour ministers should admit that the UK rebate, now over twenty years old, is indefensible today. It is morally unacceptable that the UK does not pay its fair share of the costs of the enlargement of the Union that it was once so keen to promote.
"And the overall package should be in line with the Parliament's recommendation of at least 1.07 per cent of GNI. That will permit more investment in R&D, energy supply, trans-European networks and common security policy."
ENDS/…
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