§ Mr. GibbTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to his answer of 15 September 2003,Official Report, column 550W, on agricultural produce (EU reforms), if he will make a statement on the research undertaken by his Department on the impact on developing countries of the Four Families of Sugar regime reform options put forward by the European Commission earlier this year. [131952]
§ Hilary BennThe discussions regarding reform to the EU sugar regime are still in a relatively early stage. On 23 September 2003, the European Commission published an Extended Impact Assessment and posed three possible reform options for the future of EU sugar policy. These options will now be debated by EU member states, which must agree to any major policy changes in the sector.
With specific reference to the research undertaken by DFID, we have completed our own analysis on the reform options and commissioned a study, which is still in its drafting stage, to explore the potential need for adjustment assistance for ACP countries with preferential access to the EU sugar market that may lose out from the regime.