UNITED KINGDOM-CAP .
THE prospect that in future Common Agricultural Policy funding may be shared more between the EU and its Members States should definitely be welcomed, said West MEP and Somerset farmer Neil Parish.
He told a busy morning workshop on the European Parliament and its relevance to British farming that much of his support for the concept was because "it will make the French pay more and not just take our money".
He added: "Farmers should not compete within the EU on differing levels of support.
"We should not let the French and the Irish pay their farmers just whatever they like, while our Government pays our farmers next to nothing."
Mr Parish, chairman of the European Parliament’s agricultural committee, pledged the British MEPs would continue the fight to stop the electronic tagging of sheep being imposed on the nation’s farmers.
"We now have the Germans, Italians, Spanish, Greeks and Dutch on our side, and we have heard the evidence of the Spanish, who have tried the system and found that it doesn’t work," he said.
On the proposed pesticides legislation, he said it was shameful the issue had been moved from a risk status to a hazardous status situation, particularly in view of the fungicide needs in northern Europe compared to the Mediterranean states.
Mr Parish said: "We have won some concessions over this and the situation won’t be as bad as it sounds – though it’s not what we want."
He was critical of last year’s CAP Health Check, saying it had not established the level playing field across the community that was sought by the British.
There would be a CAP after 2013, because the EU wanted one, he added, probably with a basic payment for all land.
"We must remember agriculture is a market and we need to be competitive," he added.
"I feel for our poultry and pig producers who don’t have the benefit of any financial support, but have to put up with legislation that reduces production and increases costs."
Answering questions, he said the Single Farm Payment still needed to be sorted out, and he felt the EU’s State Aid Rules were "a useful weapon for the Government to hide behind."
Mr Parish shared the platform with Gary Titley MEP, Labour’s leader in the European Parliament and a member for the North West Region, and LibDem MEP Andrew Duff, who represents the East of England.
Mr Titley said all European politics was built on concensus, which involved working across political groups, and when it came to farm issues all British MEPs stood together.
Politicians from different nations displayed diverse characteristics, he said.
The Finns were very reticent, the Greeks always voluable and the British always asked how much everything was going to cost.
He praised the NFU’s Brussels office for its successful lobbying over issues like the soils directive.
Mr Duff said the European Parliament would enjoy a huge extension of its powers if the Treaty of Lisbon was ratified by the vote in Ireland.
It could have a dramatic impact, with full powers over the CAP, but would also push for a greater degree of co-financing between the EU and Members States.
That would give Britain greater control.
He added: "If farm subsidies are cut, food prices will increase – and that’s something we must try to get across to an increasingly sceptic urban