§ Ann WintertonTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the transitional time to be granted to Poland following the country's forthcoming accession to the European Union in order to be integrated fully into the(a) Common Fisheries Policy and (b) Common Agricultural Policy; and the (i) fisheries and (ii) agricultural subject areas covered by that transitional period. [77645]
§ Mr. MorleyNegotiation of the Fisheries Chapter was provisionally closed with Poland in June 2002. A request from Poland to include sprat of the Baltic region in Annex IV of Regulation (EC) 140/2000 was agreed. Agreement on access to resources and catch quotas for all candidates is scheduled to take place shortly. Discussions on agriculture are still under way with all the acceding states, including Poland. No transitional arrangements have therefore been granted as yet. However, the offer agreed by the European Council at its meeting in Brussels on 24 and 25 October includes certain transitional measures comprising an enhanced 819W rural development programme, and a gradual phase-in of direct payments. This offer is expressly stated to be without prejudice to future decisions on CAP reform.