Common Agricultural Policy (Hansard, 27 June 1984)

§ 69. Mr. Park
asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made in bringing the expenditure on the common agricultural policy within his definition of effective control.

§ Mr. Rifkind
The March European Council agreed that in future the rate of growth in agriculture spending will be less than that of the own resources base. A few days later Agriculture Ministers took important decisions to cut agriculture prices, reduce milk production, and limit the payment of guaranteed prices for products in, or likely to enter, surplus. A text giving guaranteed effect to the March decision will have to be agreed.

§ Mr. Park
Although we are to hear the Prime Minister's statement on the latest conference, is it not a fact that today's press reports about the outcome of the conference are almost unanimous that huge sums of money will continue to be poured towards French and German farmers?

§ Mr. Rifkind
Those are not the press reports that I have seen. The press reports have almost unanimously welcomed the agreement and said that they believe that it is in the United Kingdom's interest and that the Government were right to agree the proposed terms.

§ Mr. Eldon Griffiths
Since a good deal of money provided under the CAP goes to help the production of food surpluses which we cannot consume, when my hon. Friend discusses these matters will he consider whether some more of the resources under the CAP might be used for conservation and ecological approaches to agriculture and the countryside in order to achieve a better result?

§ Mr. Rifkind
I agree with my hon. Friend that one of the Community's prime objectives must be to address itself to whatever reforms are necessary to remove the undesirable burden of huge surpluses which are of no interest to the Community or, ultimately, to the farmers who live within the Community. It is right and proper that we should consider using expenditure more sensibly and productively.

§ Mr. Robin Cook
Does the Minister appreciate that this year, despite the spring settlement, agriculture expenditure will exceed available resources by one fifth? Does he not grasp the fact that the only way to bring agriculture spending under control is to reform the structure? We have no hope of that reform if we vote increased own resources for the EEC to waste on ever larger surpluses.

§ Mr. Rifkind
I recall that in the last year of the Labour Government agriculture spending in the Community 991 represented 78 per cent. of its total expenditure; today it represents 65 per cent. of its expenditure. Members of the Community have agreed unanimously that it must in future represent a smaller proportion of the Community's expenditure. If the House is fair, it will agree that the Government have achieved far more than Labour Members did in terms of progress and controlling services.