This may further postpone the identical treatment much coveted by the
applicants. Theoretically, subsidies for the farm sectors of the new
members will increase and subsidies flowing to veteran members will
decrease until they are equalized at around 80 percent of present
levels throughout the EU by the end of the next budget period in 2013.
But, in reality, the entire CAP stands to be renegotiated in 2005-6. No
one can guarantee the outcome of this process, especially when coupled
with the Doha round of trade liberalization. The offers made now to the
candidate countries are not only mean but also meaningless.
A recent tweak by Denmark, the current president of the EU, to peg
support for farmers in the accession countries at two fifths the going
rate, won a cautious welcome by the applicants. Some of this novel
subventionary largesse will be deducted from a fund for rural
development in the new members. Additionally, national governments will
be allowed to top up inadequate EU dollops with governmental budget
funds.
Even this parsimonious offer - still disputed by the majority of
contemporary EU members - will cost the Union an extra $500 million a
year. It also fails to tackle equally weighty wrangles about production
quotas, EU protectionist "safeguard" measures, import tariffs imposed
by the applicant countries against heavily subsidized European farm
products, reduced value added taxes on agricultural produce and
referential periods and yields - the bases for calculating EU
transfers.
Pages:
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101