Friday 27 June 2003 European Union farm policy agreement  | European Union agriculture ministers have agreed reforms to the controversial system of paying subsidies to farmers. This report from Tim Hirsch. |
 Listen to the story These reforms will not end the criticism of the EU's farm policy, but the remarkable thing is that they're happening at all. As recently as last week, the French president, Jacques Chirac, was doing his best to sabotage any significant change to the system of subsidies, which benefits France more than any other country. Only when he failed to get enough allies to block the reform did a deal become possible. The price of French support has been to water down the original plans, allowing individual countries to keep some of the payments linked to how much food is produced by farmers. But the heart of the proposal remains intact. The majority of the subsidies, which encourage farmers to overproduce food, will be abolished. In their place will be a single farm payment which won't be linked to what farmers grow and which can be withheld if they don't look after the land properly. Aid charities say the changes don't do nearly enough to prevent subsidies from damaging the livelihoods of poor farmers in the developing world by under-cutting their produce. But some British environmental groups are pleased that they will allow the UK government to press ahead with plans to divert money into schemes which help bring wildlife back to the countryside. Listen to the words system of subsidies way of organising money paid by the European Union to help farmers block the reform if you block something that is being arranged you stop it from being done water down the original plans if you water down a plan you make it less forceful the heart of the proposal remains intact the most important part of the plan has not been changed to overproduce food to produce more food than is needed single farm payment one payment, rather than many damaging the livelihoods harming the way they earn money under-cutting to undercut someone is to sell something more cheaply than they do press ahead with plans continue with the plans in a determined way even if it is difficult divert money to cause money to be used for something else  Read more about this story | |  | | | SEARCH IN LEARNING ENGLISH | | | |
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