§ Mr. BreedTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of(a) progress with CAP reform ahead of the mid-term review and (b) political and public opinion within EU member states vis-à-vis CAP reform; and if she will make a statement. [29990]
§ Mr. MorleyThe successful outcome of the Doha trade discussions and the statement on agriculture and the recent reforms agreed to the sheepmeat regime represent important steps towards CAP reform.
We are engaged in informal discussions with the Commission and bilaterally with member states on the possible modalities of changes to the Common Agricultural Policy in the lead up to the mid-term review. It is clear that there are a range of views and equally clear that some key member states have elections in the coming months which may well have an important bearing on the positions taken by those member states in future negotiations.