E.U. Chief's Comments Likely to Spark Farm Aid Debate

Janusz Lewandowski, the budget chief for the European Union, said today that farm aid should be reduced to "about one-third of all outlays so that public money could flow to research and innovation". This comment is likely to spark debates over the priority of agriculture subsidies in the E.U. budget. These subsidies currently account for more than 40 percent of the E.U. budget and Lewandowski feels that should be decreased because "Farm spending should constitute about a third of E.U. spending and not its main part". Changing current policies will be difficult as all 27 member states must agree to cuts and many countries will want to preserve their funds with others, especially the new Eastern European members, pushing for a more equal share of these funds. Ultimately this is likely to be another fierce debate in which the national interests of individual member states clash with what could potentially be a beneficial change in policy for the E.U. as a whole.