VZCZCXRO3352
RR RUEHMRE RUEHSR
DE RUEHFR #1085/01 1581642
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 061642Z JUN 08
FM AMEMBASSY PARIS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3279
RUEHRC/USDA FAS WASHDC
INFO RUEHXQ/ALL EUROPEAN UNION POST
RUEHMRE/AMCONSUL MARSEILLE 2013
RUEHSR/AMCONSUL STRASBOURG 0583
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 2912
RUEHBS/AMEMBASSY BRUSSELS 6733

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 001085 
 
SIPDIS 
 
BRUSSELS PASS USEU FOR AGMINCOUNSELOR 
STATE PASS USTR FOR MURPHY; 
USDA/OS/SCHAFER/CONNER; 
USDA/FAS FOR OA/YOST/JACKSON/ROSADO; 
OCRA/CURTIS/ALEXANDER; 
ONA/RIEMENSCHNEIDER/YOUNG; 
OFSO/LEE/YOUNG; 
EU POSTS PASS TO AGRICULTURE AND ECON 
GENEVA FOR USTR, ALSO AGRICULTURE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAGR ETRD PGOV WTRO EUN FR INR
 
SUBJECT:  FRENCH EU PRESIDENCY: AGRICULTURAL POLICY GOALS 
 
¶1. Summary:   France hopes to have the CAP health check reforms 
passed during its EU presidency and will initiate discussions on a 
post 2013 CAP policy and budget. The GOF's three main objectives 
will be to maintain EU food sovereignty; maintain the economic and 
territorial health of EU agriculture; and, include societal 
preferences in farm policy.  These are to be achieved in the context 
of a principle of "European Preference" based on quality standards 
rather than consumer choice, with implicit preferential treatment of 
EU products, or at least products produced by EU production methods 
and standards. France understands fully that this approach is not 
consistent with the current rules based trading system and its 
reliance on SPS, health and safety regulations and market outcomes. 
However, the GOF believes that a system of European quality 
standards is essential to protecting the traditions and preferences 
of European producers and consumers from homogeneous low-cost agro 
industry.  France also calculates that this posture enjoys broad and 
deep support among the EU's citizens across national boundaries. End 
summary. 
 
French EU-Presidency and the CAP Reform 
 
¶2. France will hold the rotating Presidency of the European Union 
from July 1st to December 31, 2008 which coincides with the European 
Union's review of the 2003 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). 
Slovenia will initiate the discussions in the coming weeks on EU 
Commission (EC) proposals for the review announced on May 22. French 
Ag Minister Barnier has been actively lobbying other EU Agriculture 
Ministers to keep a "strong and comprehensive" EU farm policy 
despite growing criticism of high farm payments during this period 
of elevated food prices. 
 
¶3.  France hopes to have reforms successfully adopted by the 
European Council before the end of December 2008.  Further delay 
would mean the reforms would require European Parliamentary approval 
under the Lisbon treaty expected to be applicable beginning January 
1, 2009. This co-decision process would further postpone reform as 
the European parliament's legislative session will end in the spring 
pending elections in June 2009. 
 
¶4. France supports the Commission's proposals for sanitary and 
climatic risk management policies, such as private/public funds for 
industry losses following animal health or natural disasters. 
Minister Barnier praised the Commission proposals allowing Member 
States to maintain "coupled" support for some endangered sectors on 
a case by case basis and to fund quality and environmental programs. 
While France had hoped for inclusion of crop and revenue insurance 
programs it questioned the WTO compatibility of co-financing 
insurance premiums as suggested by the Commission. 
 
¶5. France remains cautious about dismantling the milk quota system 
fearing that it may destabilize the EU milk market and endanger milk 
sector production in mountainous and fragile areas. France opposes 
full decoupling of arable crop payments, including minor crops. 
This issue, together with the proposed elimination of intervention, 
will likely be the most difficult to settle during the French 
Presidency. France believes it has the support of a majority of EU 
member states, especially new Member States such as Hungary and 
Romania. 
 
CAP Reform beyond 2013 
 
¶6. In February 2008 President Sarkozy announced that France hopes 
that the main objectives of the future CAP could be defined during 
its presidency so that the tools, policies and funding could be 
discussed by the EU Commission and the EU Parliament during 
2010-2012 for application in 2013. 
 
¶7. France has three major objectives for the future CAP: 1) maintain 
EU food sovereignty and independence; 2) maintain the economic and 
territorial health of EU agriculture, and; 3) include the collective 
(i.e. social and environmental) choices of the EU consumers in farm 
policy. 
 
¶8. In order to achieve these goals, France is relying on the 
European Preference (EP) principle  (i.e. the principle that EU 
products should receive preferential treatment compared to imported 
 
PARIS 00001085  002 OF 002 
 
 
goods, or at least, not be put at a disadvantage).  This includes 
both tariffs and non-tariff measures. While EC Ag Commissioner 
Fischer-Boel cautioned that this French overture could be 
protectionist, French policymakers believe that the EP principle 
would provide for more "fair" trade. 
 
¶9. The French see restrictive border measures as necessary to 
compensate for the reduced competitiveness of EU farm goods due to 
internal policies and norms, which are acknowledged to be "societal 
choices" rather than sanitary protection (e.g. higher environmental, 
animal welfare and social standards). Stricter non-tariff measures 
would subject imported goods to the same EU requirements as domestic 
producers. Should the EP be implemented, France and the EU would 
arguably justify trade restrictive measures on the basis of societal 
concerns, irrespective of scientific evidence.  Moreover, the French 
believe that government should identify and act upon these societal 
concerns rather than leaving food trade open to global market 
forces. 
 
¶10.  While the French clearly intend to adopt food standards taking 
into account factors beyond health and safety, officials have not 
provided specific commodity applications or defined how societal 
concerns would be taken into account. 
 
¶11.  Nevertheless, France has already signaled its intention to 
place significant weight upon societal acceptance (versus scientific 
evaluation) in considering approval for Genetically-Engineered (GE) 
products and is now seeking to export this decision-making process 
to the EU level. The link between the idea of adopting standards 
based on "societal preference" rather than a rules-based trading 
system is apparent as well in the current French opposition to 
Pathogen Reduction Treatments (PRTs) for poultry.  The French 
proffer that they can reject production methods which don't meet 
European ideals of food quality and diversity; that "quality" is 
more important to Europeans than just low prices. One could 
hypothesize that in the future the EU could ban the importation of 
eggs produced by hens in small cages if such cages are banned in the 
EU for animal welfare reasons. 
 
¶12. While French policy makers acknowledge that any new measures 
should be within the WTO framework, they believe that Article 20 of 
the SPS agreement allows environmental (and maybe societal) elements 
to justify non-tariff barriers.  France believes that at least 10 
member states support its position, and others are likely to approve 
a French proposal. Ideally, France would like to have societal 
concerns also included in the WTO framework so that restrictive EU 
import policies become WTO compatible. French representations at the 
WTO and other international organizations are likely to push for 
legitimization of non-traditional concerns in the determination of 
market access. 
 
STAPLETON