| Author (Person) | Cronin, David |
|---|---|
| Series Title | European Voice |
| Series Details | Vol.8, No.5, 7.2.02, p1 |
| Publication Date | 07/02/2002 |
| Content Type | News |
|
Date: 07/02/02 By The country's diplomats say the European Commission's €30 billion blueprint for footing the enlargement bill is too expensive by €7.5 billion. 'That's a significant amount; it's not peanuts,' said one. Germany's case is based on an analysis of the agreement made at the 1999 Berlin summit. It has revised calculations made then to cover the ten new states expected to enter the Union in the next few years, rather than the six envisaged at the time. Germany is also concerned about plans to let farmers in the new states benefit from the full direct payments paid to their counterparts in existing member states by 2013. But the country is not likely to make as big an issue of this as the Netherlands, which this week argued against the direct payments proposal, pointing out that it went beyond the terms of the Berlin summit deal. This followed a call by its State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Dirk Benschop for EU agriculture subsidies to be gradually eliminated. Germany will brand the latest proposals on financing enlargement as too costly when EU foreign ministers meet in Cáceres, Spain, 8-9 February 2002. |
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| Subject Categories | Politics and International Relations |
