Minister doubts EU's honesty

  • 2002-06-20
  • Agence France-Presse, RIGA
Latvian Finance Minister Gundars Berzins questioned the European Union's honesty in negotiations with candidate countries over agriculture in a speech on June 18.

The EU had ignored Latvia's critical response to EU proposals on the future of agriculture after it enlarges, Berzins told a conference of Latvian intellectuals in the capital.

"Maybe the EU, sensing that it can't cope with expansion, is doing this on purpose," Berzins was reported as saying by the Baltic News Service. Berzins also questioned the EU's ability to guarantee security in Europe.

"If the EU does not undergo a whole array of reforms, I believe that a period of decline will soon start," Berzins added.

The EU's proposals on agriculture have prompted sharp criticism among the 10 countries positioned to close accession negotiations with the European Union this year, as their farmers would receive direct payments initially at the level of just 25 percent of those received by current members, rising to the same level over a 10-year period.

The Baltic countries also say the EU's proposals for sales quotas would mean cutting production from current levels.

Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia all hope to complete accession talks this year.