Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)

The Commission's proposals for reform of the EU sugar regime are the subject of intensive discussions in Brussels, both at ministerial and high-level official levels. The proposals will be the main item on the agenda for the three-day Council of Ministers meeting next week at which the UK Presidency will aim to achieve a political agreement on the issue, ahead of the WTO ministerial meeting in Hong Kong.

My views on the proposals are well known and I have made the Commission fully aware of my serious concerns. In June, within days of the publication of the proposals, I met Commissioner Fischer Boel in Ireland. In July, I set out the position again at the Agriculture and Fisheries Council. I have emphasised that the price cuts proposed are too severe, the reforms should be based on a longer lead-in time for the Everything But Arms agreement and it would be preferable to await the outcome of the WTO meeting in Hong Kong in December before seeking to conclude an agreement on sugar reform. I have also remained in contact with like-minded Ministers from other member states who are opposed to the reform proposals.

In this context, a group of 11 member states, including Ireland, submitted a joint ministerial letter to the Commission in advance of the formal discussion at last month's Council meeting, setting out its objections to the proposals. I maintained my firm opposition to the Commission's proposals when I addressed last month's meeting of the Council of Ministers in Luxembourg. At next week's meeting in Brussels, I will be equally resolute in pursuing my overall objective of achieving a more balanced agreement that takes Irish interests into account.

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