15/06/2005 2:31:41 pm
Why Sabotage is a French Word? Appropriately for participating in a conference on health policy, my day started with jogging in S:t James? Park, next to Buckingham Palace. That can definitely compete with jogging around Kungsholmen in Stockholm!

In the main headlines is of course the meeting between Blair and Chirac in Paris yesterday. The divison between the countries regarding the future of the EU is so sharp that they did?t even have a joint press conference afterwards.

Blair has offered that Britain could pay more to the EU budget by taking away the rebate they have had since 1984. But the precondition is that the French agree to cut the large EU subsidies to farmers. Chirac has offered nothing - he won?t even talk about the subsidies - but demands that Britain should pay more. Give nothing - demand all.

France actually receives 24 % of all the money that is distributed to agriculture in an EU with 25 members. And everyone knows what horrific effects that policy has on prices, poor countries and economic growth.

The EU shouldn?t give any subsidies to agriculture; if farmers can?t make it as ordinary companies in the market, they should close. If agricultural goods are better produced elsewhere than in Europe, and consumers don?t choose European products, there should be no agriculture in Europe. Giving subsidies to such an business is to lock up large resources that could have been used for new and better production that consumers would actually pay for.

One country out of 24 blocks the way to the future. Again. Sometimes I agree that the solution to a large amount of problems in Europe would be the French leaving the EU. At least for a decade or so, and when reforms have been done, they can come back.