EU Council conclusions in preparation for Cancun
In the conclusions of the EU Council on the Cancun Ministerial, EU Ministers stressed the importance of the conclusions of the Agriculture Council of June 26th 2003, as one of the bases for the EU negotiating position in Cancun and indicated that it now expected 'equivalent agricultural concessions from the EU's WTO partners. The EU Council called for 'the establishment of a multilateral system of notification and registration of geographical indications for wines and spirits and additional protection for other products. Comment: The outcome of the June 26th EU Agricultural Council meeting on the reform of the CAP will place a number of constraints on the Commission's room for manoeuvre on agricultural issues at the Cancun WTO Ministerial. The partial nature of the decoupling which has occurred as a result of the June 26th EU Council agreement means that in the coming years a higher level of EU agricultural aid will remain coupled to production and subject to WTO disciplines than the Commission initially hoped. This means that the EU will have less flexibility in agreeing to reductions in domestic support than the Commission expected. The reduction of the extent of modulation will reduce the financial leeway the EU has to pursue further sectoral reforms (particularly in the sugar sector) and this will harm its ability to reduce export refunds in a multilateral framework. Similarly the failure to cut cereal prices by 5% will reduce the ability of the EU to accept cuts in allowed export-refund expenditures. Agreement on dairy-sector reform will, however, provide the Commission with some scope for negotiations.
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | News Item biblioteca |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation
2003
|
| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/52638 http://agritrade.cta.int/Back-issues/Agriculture-monthly-news-update/2003/September-2003 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|