Brussels - European Union farm ministers wrapped up two-day talks on Tuesday no closer to agreement on a new banana import policy but looking ahead to a transatlantic meat trade deal next month.
The meeting, the second with Britain's Jack Cunningham in the chair, also discussed reform of the EU's billion dollar a year tobacco regime, next season's farm price package, meat export guarantees to Asia and a measure to promote beef sales.
Although described by Cunningham as a constructive meeting, it reached few conclusions. But he was optimistic the veterinary equivalency deal with Washington could be signed soon.
"There has been very positive progress and we hope an agreement will be ready for the Council to endorse in March," he told a closing press conference.
The pact, which sets up a framework for the mutual recognition of veterinary standards and control procedures, is aimed at facilitating the $3 billion a year transatlantic trade in meat and meat products.
In practice it would mean U.S. and EU authorities could carry out their own inspections of exporting meat plants and authorisations by domestic officials would be acceptable to the other party.
EU officials said more information was being sought from Washington on several outstanding issues, including the key aspect of regionalisation, which held up the agreement late last year. Regionalisation would mean the U.S. accepting that, when a disease such as swine fever broke out in Germany, it would not lead to a block on the whole country's exports.
Both sides have expressed hope that such a framework would ease some of the transatlantic trade friction caused by recent disputes over hormone-treated beef and poultry.
The Commission's plans to reform EU banana import policy was the subject of vigorous debate at the last meeting and talks continued this time in much the same vein.
"Ministers view the Commission proposals as a basis for continuing their discussions, but there is certainly not unanimity," Cunningham admitted.
The EU was forced to amend its regime after the World Trade Organisation ruled it favoured Caribbean producers to the detriment of the large and powerful Latin American growers.
EU ministers are split between a group led by Germany which is calling for a fully liberalised market, and France, Britain and Spain which are keen to protect growers in their former colonies and within the EU, including Spain's Canary Islands.
Under the WTO ruling, the EU must have a new import system in place by the start of next year, but Britain has said it wants to try to wrap the discussions up during its six-month presidency which ends on June 30.
Ministers also discussed a Danish complaint that U.S. export credits to South Korea were undermining its trade efforts in the country. Danish officials said millions of dollars in export guarantees from Washington had dented its pigmeat exports.
But EU Farm Commissioner Franz Fischler said the EU could not issue extra export refunds because of its GATT commitments but added this was a matter for national governments.
Ministers failed to agree on a $60 million aid package designed to boost Europe's flagging beef market.
The European Commission's proposal to promote high quality beef on the EU market was rejected by Denmark's Henrik Dam Kristensen because it did not cover meat from dairy herds.
On Monday, ministers got their first look at the Commission's plans for next season's price package. Cunningham said there was a "welcome air of restraint" about the comments, but negotiations are expected to continue for some months.
Germany requested a set aside rate above five percent but Ireland and Belgium wanted one below, according to EU officials.
Also on Monday the EU's tobacco growers gave guarded support to reforming a sector which receives a billion dollars a year in subsidies amid opposition from some members led by Sweden on health grounds.
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