Science - February 19, 2004
EU agricultural policy reforms still not up to WTO demands
Although European commissioner for agriculture Fischler declared last summer that European agricultural policy reforms were in compliance with the World Trade Organization requirements, the liberalisation measures so far fall short of the change proposed by the WTO. The Agricultural Economics Research Institute (LEI) made calculations for the Dutch ministry of agriculture.
LEI also calculated that the agricultural reforms agreed to by the EU last summer will lead to lower incomes for farmers by 2012, but that the WTO proposals would lead to a much greater reduction in incomes. The EU reforms would lead to a reduction of two percent in income for Dutch farmers, the WTO proposals to a reduction of eight percent. For the rest of the EU countries the reductions would be three and ten percent respectively. The eastern European countries about to join the EU would suffer reductions of five (EU) and thirteen (WTO) percent.
Joris Tielens