The European Commission called Tuesday for direct aid to Europe's farmers to be trimmed faster than planned, DPA reported. At an informal meeting of agriculture ministers in Mainz, Germany, Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel said she aimed to slash cash handouts to the farm proprietors from 2009 and spend the billions of euros on upgrading rural facilities instead. But Germany, the biggest of the EU's 27 members, declared immediate opposition. Its agriculture minister, Horst Seehofer, said German farmers counted on 5 billion euros from the 35 billion euros (47 billion dollars) handed to farmers annually under the EU Common Agricultural Policy. "Farmers must be able to rely on the politicians' promises coming true," said Seehofer. "I cannot agree on diverting more funds." At the end of the three days of talks, Fischer Boel said she would unveil proposals next year to run down the cash payments faster. Currently they are being reduced by 5 per cent annually. She suggested raising the rate by one percentage point annually from 2009 on so that the run-down rate reached 10 per cent in 2013. "That would be a moderate increase," she said. She added that EU farmers would also have to do more in future to combat climate change. Food production and renewable energy were linked issues. Farmers had to focus on a wider range of products.
