§ Mr. SpringTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with(a) EU member states and (b) the accession countries about reform of the Common Agricultural Policy; and if he will make a statement. [7987]
§ Peter HainMy right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, is in regular dialogue with her counterparts in the European Union and candidate countries on reform of the Common Agricultural Policy. I frequently raise the importance of reform of the Common Agricultural Policy with European Union and other Governments, as do other members of the Government including the Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
Our goals are reduction of the costs of the Common Agricultural Policy and better delivery of policy outcomes. We want to reduce the overall burden of the Common Agricultural Policy, align European Union and world prices more closely, and target support measures on the rural economy and the environment. These are also important for our ambitions for a new World Trade Organisation round for enlargement of the European Union.
There has been progress. In the 1980s spending on the Common Agricultural Policy was over 60 per cent. of European Community budget. In 2001 it will be around 45 per cent.
As a result of the Agenda 2000 package agreed by Heads of State at the 1999 Berlin European Council, spending on the Common Agricultural Policy will decline in real terms for 2002. Mid-term reviews of the Common Agricultural Policy are scheduled for 2002–03. The Government's objective is to secure changer that benefit consumers, taxpayers, the rural economy, the farming community and the environment. There is increasing recognition within the European Union of the need for reform.