The European Agriculture Commissioner has defended his CAP reform proposals in the European Parliament and heaped scorn on those who put forward what he termed "hybrid" forms of decoupling direct payments to farmers from farm production.
Dr Franz Fischler told MEPs that these hybrid forms of decoupling "would mean all the disadvantages of the present system would be compounded" and a continuation of the red tape.
Those who had expected Dr Fischler to weaken on his demands for full decoupling were to be disappointed at the commissioner's apparent unmovable attitude towards changing the far-reaching reform package.
He said decoupling direct payments from production was central to CAP reform to avoid distortions to trade and to ensure that the EU lived up to its international agreements.
Dr Fischler, who will meet the farm ministers on June 11th in an attempt to hammer out a final deal in the mid-term review, said his proposals would double the amount of money going into farmers' pockets and this had been confirmed by the World Trade Organisation.
He said that the new policies had to be market-driven so that instabilities could be headed off before they arose.
The commissioner, who was last night meeting an Irish Farmers Association delegation here, led by Mr John Dillon, to discuss its alternative proposals, said direct payments had to be compatible with the marketplace and to international trade commitments.
"We need to give farmers enough certainty in their forward planning and base their individual payments on historical production levels."
Dr Fischler said society wanted direct payments to be conditional on standards for the environment, animal welfare, safe food and farm health and safety.
"We want to ensure that agriculture can continue throughout the EU territory so that the countryside can be properly maintained," he said.
He did not want to gloss over the fact that there were differences in opinions on how the reform was being organised and while there was quite some way to go before agreement, things were already moving ahead.
Before meeting with Dr Fischler last night, Mr Dillon said the IFA's proposals on decoupling, which would mean farmers would have to retain at least 50 per cent of their stock and farm 80 per cent of their land to pick up the single annual payment being proposed, was finding favour with other farm organisations in Europe and with the Irish Government.
He said the Minister for Agriculture, Mr Walsh, was "standing very close" to the IFA in relation to its proposals and had denied to him that the counter proposals made by the IFA had not disadvantaged him in any way in the EU negotiations to find a proper farm reform package.
Mr Dillon said the IFA wanted a payment which could be seen as being attached to farm production. In essence, he said, it was proposing a farming-linked decoupled payment which could be defended in the future.