The French, however, have said a definite 'Non' to any further tampering with EU farm support policy until the USA has puts its cards on the table in the context of the next World Trade Round. And this is a point of view that has secured the whole hearted support of Farm Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel.
Whether or not EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson wants to put a different spin on this position is a matter of some conjecture. His views on the need, as he sees it, to get an embracing trade deal at the next WTO round are well known. And while he can't meddle with the deal struck courtesy of the mid review of the CAP, he certainly has the authority to barter reductions in export refunds and import levies for relaxations in other aspects of international trade.
It normally takes months, or sometimes years, for discussions of the type held in Austria over the past few days to be translated in to measures that have real impact on farms across Northern Ireland. In the meantime the EU machine starts to work on drafting and re-drafting different policy positions.
And it is during this period that the local farming organisations and lobby groups can have a real impact in getting their points of view factored into the final policy documents that outflow from world trade deals and other important international agreements. And in this quest we must use every avenue of approach open to us.
Increasingly the European Parliament is taking on a more prominent role in determining the specifics of EU policy in many areas. In fact, this particular point was highlighted directly at a recent seminar hosted by the organisation in Belfast. Our MEPs can have a significant input in determining the final shape of EU regulations and Directives, particularly at the early stages of policy development. This is an opportunity which the local agri-food sector must capitalise on as it looks to the future!
RICHARD HALLORAN