German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso emerged from talks Wednesday evening saying they oppose British Prime Minister Tony Blair's proposed changes to E.U. agricultural aid. The two men also said they believe the beleaguered E.U. draft constitution is still alive, DPA reported. "We are encouraged that Luxembourg and other nations intend to go ahead with planned referendum votes on the constitution," Schroeder said after the talks in Aachen. The German parliament has voted to ratify the document, but Germany's president has postponed signing of the ratification bill pending a high court review. On the issue of Britain's campaign to curb agriculture spending, Barroso said any review of aid to dairy, meat and grain producers should be put off until 2008 or later. Blair has called for a wholesale redrafting of a 2002 agreement on farm subsidies. "Calling into question an accord that was concluded only three years ago is, in our view, not the right thing to do," Barroso said. "It's a negative track." About 40 per cent of the annual 105 billion-euro (125 billion- dollar) E.U. budget goes for farmers under policies dating back to the E.U.'s founding in the 1950s. France garners a quarter of the farm aid, twice its share of the E.U.'s population. --More 2150 Local Time 1850 GMT
