Ms Danielle Auroi:

What is most interesting is having a rich exchange. We hope the Irish Presidency will manage to close an important file for Ireland and France. I am talking about agriculture and CAP reform. We have a common vision when it comes to husbandry and cattle and Ireland is in the same situation as France. We want further greening of the CAP because it is unlikely that the Lithuanian Presidency will follow down that road. We run the risk of Lithuania encouraging the large cereal plains in the north of Europe, which would not be good for citizens in the south, whether in Italy, Spain, France or even Austria and Germany.

Perhaps the Irish Presidency might reopen some topics, even though the Commission has the lead. I refer to the format and framework of the EU-US free trade agreement negotiations. Members will certainly know that France has some reservations on some of these topics and will exercise its right of veto on the cultural exception, if necessary. It would be useful in that context to take heed of the lessons we learned in the negotiations with Canada on its free trade agreement with the European Union. It is blocked because the original mandate was too wide and not clear enough, especially on industrial issues. There is no agreement between the European Union and Canada.

There are some agricultural methods in the United States which are not acceptable to EU citizens, for example, when it comes to animal feed, the labelling of meat products or what they do with animal carcasses.

I thank members. We are here to answer their questions, to which we will listen carefully.