CAP reform to benefit EU candidates

Agriculture Minister Tiit Tammsaar and the chancellor of the ministry, Toomas Kevvai, who represented Estonia at EU talks on Common Agriculture Policy in Luxembourg on June 25 – 26, hailed the breakthrough agreement that was reached after a 17-hour, marathon debate.
Kevvai said the main points of the CAP reform were lower milk prices and cancellation of certain restrictions for farmers to receive EU aid.
"EU's milk products are likely to become more competitive now that milk will be cheaper," he said.
"The losses of dairies will be compensated by the EU though."
The system of direct payments will remain, yet farmers' production options will be expanded. Farmers dependant on EU aid will no longer need to produce only those types of food sponsored by the EU but will make their choices in accordance with market demand, according to Kevvai.
Tammsaar added that stricter enforcement of EU standards was also made a major position in CAP reforms.
"It does not matter how much a farmer produces, it's important that he does it in accordance with EU regulations on food safety and environment protection," said Tammsaar.
The CAP reform approved in Luxembourg will become a heavy argument at the World Trade Organization talks this autumn, according to Tammsaar.
"The candidate countries will positively benefit from the CAP reform," said Tammsaar.
The EU's NGOs and farmers' unions criticized the breakthrough agreement, saying that the reforms would neither help the EU to maintain its external commitments nor improve its internal situation.
Subsidies lead to EU's farm products being dumped in developing countries for abnormally low prices because of heavy overproduction of the union's agricultural sector.