Farmers will get full subsidy until accession

CYPRUS’ EU chief negotiator George Vassiliou yesterday assured cattle breeders and crop growers they would continue to receive subsidies at least till the island acceded to the bloc.

EU law prohibits national subsidisation of agricultural products, and would like to see Cyprus gradually slashing these aids by the year 2003. But Vassiliou stressed that no changes to the current regime would be made, adding that Cyprus was negotiating the issue with the EU.

He went on to assure crop growers they would receive 100 per cent of subsidies for hay, cereals and wheat until accession.

Following accession, the government would make “intensive efforts” to ensure local subsidy rates were maintained; currently, the rates are higher than those in European countries.

One of farmers’ concerns are that subsidy rates are relative to total production, which over the past six years fell dramatically due to an extended period of drought. Vassiliou said the Cyprus negotiating team would be sure to raise this issue, adding he was confident an understanding could be reached with the EU.

The island has already closed the majority of EU harmonisation chapters.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.