Bumpy meeting of agriculture ministers sees multiple abstentions

EU agriculture ministers have listed a series of reservations regarding the "health check" of the EU's common agriculture policy, tabled by the European Commission last November.

"Despite divergent views, we managed to come up with a uniform platform," Slovenian agriculture minister Iztok Jarc, speaking on behalf of the rotating EU presidency, currently held by his country, said on Monday (17 March) after the ministerial meeting.

Two delegations - the Czech Republic and the Latvian - stopped short of supporting the final outcome and instead abstained from the vote.

EU agriculture commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel, for her part, said: "It was clear that all member states had their own shopping lists ... but we are still in the same shop, that is of crucial importance."

According to the commissioner, all governments will be "surprised" when she presents the commission's new proposal - based on the outcome of the ministerial meeting - on 20 May.

The main sticking point centres around the idea of capping and cutting payments for farmers, as the commission envisages gradually reducing the support level as overall payments to big farmers increase.

The commission proposals "may harm the competitveness of the agricultural sector in several member states," Czech agriculture minister Petr Gandalovic said on Monday (17 March), adding that over 50 percent of the country's businesses - farming 98 percent of overall farm land - would be effected.