EU Farm Chief Refuses to Prolong Tobacco Subsidies

Source from:  Doordarshan (in) 01/01/2008

Europe's agriculture chief refused on Tuesday to bow to demands to prolong subsidies for tobacco growers as part of this week's farm reform talks, saying there were other solutions to cushion any financial pain. Eight major EU tobacco-producing countries have said they want existing subsidies extended to 2013, despite an agreement struck four years ago that will see the historic link between cash amount and production volume scrapped from 2010. "Tobacco is not in the health check," EU Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel told the European Parliament, referring to her blueprint for a mini-reform of EU farm policy that EU ministers will begin negotiating on Wednesday. Several thousands of tobacco farmers, mainly from France, are expected to hold protests in Brussels on Wednesday. "The tobacco reform was made in 2004, it was supported by all countries and also all tobacco producing member states," she said. "I have said lots of times, I am certainly not going to reopen the tobacco reform" she added. That 2004 deal will see subsidies for tobacco growers, regardless of the size of their output, fully decoupled from production amounts from 2010. Half of the total payments will be shifted into a restructuring fund to help farmers improve yields or switch to other crops. As a social safety-net to cushion the reform, EU countries were allowed to retain up to 60 percent of payments linked to production, but only for farmers in poor areas or in schemes to promote quality varieties, for four years from 2006. Earlier this month, a group of countries agreed to demand only a partial decoupling of subsidies from 2010, arguing that otherwise there would be a social impact on thousands of people employed in the sector. Led by Italy, those countries include France, Greece and Spain and also newer EU member states Bulgaria, Poland, Romania and Hungary that did not participate in the 2004 "Mediterranean reform" talks that also overhauled cotton and olive oil policy. After refusing to reopen the tobacco reform, Fischer Boel said there might well be other ways within her "health check" of farm policy to mitigate the worst effects of tobacco subsidy decoupling. "I'll be open to help all those member states, regions, that do face problems because there are lots of possibilities available in the rural development policy," she said. "I'm sure we can create solutions that will soften the consequences of the decisions already taken for the tobacco producers," she added in her address to the European Parliament. Enditem