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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.
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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
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