France, Germany seal deal on EU farm budget freeze

Germany and France endorsed a European Commission proposal for a nominal freeze in agricultural spending at 2013 levels from 2014 to 2020 as budget talks for the period enter the final stage, a joint statement said on Wednesday.

Germany is the largest contributor to the European Union's budget and France the largest beneficiary of farm subsidies under the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP), which consumes about 40 percent of the bloc's total budget.