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Lucia A Keegan  10/17/2006 10:33:27 AM  From  DB/Inbox:  Lucia A Keegan

Cable 
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UNCLAS    SENSITIVE     PARIS 06828

SIPDIS
cxparis:
    ACTION: AGR
    INFO:   UNESCO SCI POL ECNO DCM AMB ECON TRDO

DISSEMINATION: AGRX
CHARGE: PROG

APPROVED: AGR: EBERRY
DRAFTED: AGR: XAUDRAN
CLEARED: AGR: EBERRY  EMIN : TWHITE

VZCZCFRI170
RR RUEHC RUEHRC RUCNMEM RUEHMRE RUEHSR RUEHGV
DE RUEHFR #6828 2891635
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 161635Z OCT 06
FM AMEMBASSY PARIS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2239
RUEHRC/USDA FAS WASHDC
INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES
RUEHMRE/AMCONSUL MARSEILLE 1363
RUEHSR/AMCONSUL STRASBOURG 0207
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 2510

UNCLAS PARIS 006828 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED 
 
BRUSSELS PASS USEU FOR AGMINCOUNSELOR 
STATE FOR OES; EUR/ERA AND EB ; 
STATE PASS USTR FOR MURPHY; 
USDA/OS/JOHANNS AND TERPSTRA; 
USDA/FAS FOR OA/YOST/ROBERTS; 
ITP/SHEIKH/MACKE/TOM POMEROY/ROBERT CURTIS/GREG YOUNG; 
FAA/ALEXANDER/HIGGISTON; 
USDA/RMA FOR ELDON GOULD AND JAMES CALLAN 
EU POSTS PASS TO AGRICULTURE AND ECON 
GENEVA FOR USTR, ALSO AGRICULTURE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAGR ETRD EU FR
 
SUBJECT: French agricultural official clashes with EU commission 
representative on reform date. 
¶1. (SBU) Summary  : Debate between a GOF agriculture official and a 
representative of the European Commission at an October 10 seminar 
on agricultural risk management highlighted continuing differences 
over: 
 
- the date of the next round of CAP reform (2008 vs. 2013); 
- whether the EU needed to make overtures on domestic support and 
market access to help restart the Doha Trade Round; and 
- the possibility of using one percent set-asides for crop insurance 
programs. End Summary 
 
2.(SBU) during a seminar on agricultural risk management, the high 
level representative of the French Ministry of Agriculture publicly 
clashed with the representative from the European Commission. He 
accused the Commission of lacking innovative policies and blamed the 
EU for not effectively reacting to agricultural crises. The EU 
representative replied that France's position was not representative 
of other member states' positions and that the budget constrained 
the EU Commission's initiatives. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Tomas Garcia-Azcarate from the Agricultural Directorate of 
the EU Commission explicitly explained that in the current 
environment, the EU Commission had no intention of establishing a 
crop or revenue insurance system for European farmers. There was no 
European consensus on this issue and no budget provisions for such a 
system. He also insisted that the 1 percent set- aside from farm 
payments through the modulation system was solely to be used by 
Member States for rural development and environmental policies. He 
stated that for the Commission, the next reform of the CAP will take 
place in 2008, not 2013. Tomas Garcia-Azcarate also mentioned that 
the Commission may have to make further proposals on market access 
and domestic support levels to help restart the Doha trade round. He 
concluded by lamenting current French hostility to the Commission. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Christian Ligeard, who heads the International Relations 
Office at the Directorate for Economic and International Policy at 
the French Ministry of Agriculture, reacted strongly to Garcia 
Azcarate's statement. He reiterated that for France, 2008 was just a 
date to evaluate the current CAP, but that no reform should be 
undertaken before 2013. He also insisted that no further WTO 
proposal should be made by the EU Commission before other trade 
partners (namely the United States) make new proposals themselves. 
 
 
¶5. (SBU) Christian Ligeard then criticized the Commission for being 
too cautious in tackling the various crises in agriculture while 
forbidding Member States to help their respective agricultural 
sectors. He referred to the Commission's refusal to set safeguard 
measures (even if such measures are authorized by the WTO) in 2005 
when the European apple market was severely impacted by large 
imports from the southern hemisphere. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Christian Ligeard also criticized the lack of will of the 
EU Commission on the crop insurance issue. He stated that for 
France, the 1 percent set-aside under the modulation system could be 
used for such programs, even if it ends up in the amber box. 
 
¶7. Comment : While French officials, including President Chirac, 
have been strenuously opposing a 2008 "health check" of the Common 
Agricultural Policy (CAP), there are certain reforms many in the 
French agricultural sector would like to see, particularly in the 
area of enhanced risk management (ie crop and revenue insurance). 
The desire for reform may motivate the French to agree to at least a 
limited discussion of CAP provisions in the 2008 time frame. The new 
French administration which will be installed following the 
presidential election of 2007 may also be more open to discussing 
CAP reform. End comment 
 
Stapleton