Farmers demand clarity from EU
Polish negotiators are pushing the European Union (EU) to take a clear stance on the future of the country's agriculture in an enlarged EU, especially regarding direct payments to farmers and production limits on key products such as milk, sugar and wheat.
Although the sensitive negotiation chapter on agriculture opened last June, officials said they are still confused over what the key issues are, not only in the explosive area of agriculture, but also in Poland's general accession bid.
The centerpiece of the country's negotiation stance is the determination to win full benefits for farmers as outlined in the EU's Common Agriculture Policy (CAP), entitling them to receive up to E3 billion a year in direct payments once Poland joins the EU.
"This is a fundamental issue," said Jan Kulakowski, Poland's chief negotiator. "If (we) take on the responsibilities outlined in EU law, then (farmers) should also enjoy the rights provided under that law."
Polish negotiators argue that a lack of a clear position on the issue not only threatens to stall negotiations, but also risks slowing progress in overhauling Poland's bloated agriculture sector, widely considered as lagging far behind EU standards.
"This issue has very serious consequences in overall negotiations," said Deputy Agriculture Minister Jerzy Plewa.
For their part, EU representatives said that negotiations are moving at a fair clip. At present Polish and EU representatives continue to exchange information on Poland's agriculture sector, thus permitting the formulation of a new common negotiating position.
The appeal for a clear position on agriculture follows a larger move on Poland's part to accelerate EU entry talks. Over the past month Polish negotiators announced key concessions related to tax policies, air transport, environment and law on companies.
The digging in on agriculture by Polish negotiators may be more of a PR exercise directed at local farmers than an attempt to prompt the EU for clarifications. The prospect of Poland's EU membership has taken a bruising in recent weeks, particularly related to agriculture.
The EU's labeling of Poland as a country at high risk for the appearance of so-called mad cow disease, or BSE, has undermined support for enlargement among farmers. Farmers were also angry last week after the EU announced it would grant only a 10-year transition period before Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary will have to permit the sale of agricultural land to EU citizens. In its original negotiation position, Poland proposed that the restriction remain in force for at least 18 years after joining the EU.
This week farmers are due to picket the EU mission in Warsaw to protest both the BSE high-risk label and the ruling on agricultural land.
In announcing the planned demonstration, farmers' groups said they would remain inflexible on the land issue. "In the name of farmers' trade unions, we certify that there is not, nor will their be, agreement on the unlimited trade in land as long as earnings and purchasing power is not equaled out," said the National Union of Farmers' Cooperatives and Agricultural Organizations (KR) in a statement last week.
The issue of direct payments is a salient one for farmers, who said that the EU's stance on the issue will likely determine how rural Poland casts its vote in a national referendum on membership.
"Farmers want to know if they will enjoy the same rights and responsibilities once Poland joins the EU," said Jozef Waligora, president of the National Farmers Chamber of Commerce. "If that's not how it will be, then our answer in a national referendum will be negative."
The push on the issue comes at a sensitive moment for the EU as well. The agriculture sector is reeling over the BSE and foot-and-mouth epidemics. At the same time the EU countries themselves are debating the future of their own farmers under CAP.
To date, Poland has closed 15 of the 29 chapters that must be resolved before membership is permitted. According to the EU's road map for negotiations, agriculture talks are slated for completion in the first half of next year.
However, that may not be fast enough for officials who are still eyeing the beginning of 2003 as the target date for the country's EU accession.
"The Polish side will strive to speed up negotiations in this area," Kulakowski said last week.
