Scotland and Wales to influence CAP?
UK - Recently devolved Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have already established a strong bargaining position in the development of EU policy, particularly in agriculture, likely to affect how the UK handles CAP reform in the future, claims a new UK study.Researchers at the Universities of Manchester, Edinburgh and Glasgow say that these three administrations have actually acquired greater policy-making resources of their own, and a clearer sense of priorities with which to influence EU policy in their territorial interest.
“Most English regions have far less impact in Brussels than the better resourced offices set up by the devolved administrations. And, at home, they find themselves having to lobby Whitehall to influence the UK’s approach to EU issues, too,” comments Martin Burch, at Manchester University and co-author of the study.
In 2003, the former farm commissioner Franz Fischler brought in reform to the EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Despite being a somewhat diluted version of the original proposition initially laid before European ministers, the reform brought criticisms from EU member states, particularly France that takes about 50 per cent of total farm subsidies.
Source: meatprocess.com
15 February 2005
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