Macron tells farmers he opposes cuts to agricultural subsidies

Macron tells farmers he opposes cuts to agricultural subsidies
Copyright POOL/AFPChristophe PETIT TESSON
By Daniel Bellamy with AFP
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France is the main beneficiary of EU agricultural subsidies. After Brexit there's a large hole in the EU's budget but the French president says he'll oppose any subsidy cuts.

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French President Emmanuel Macron opened France's most famous agriculture show on Saturday (February 22), hours after difficult talks in Brussels on the next EU budget had reached a stalemate.

Macron has been trying to reassure farmers that there won't be any cuts to the EU's large agricultural subsidies.

France is the main beneficiary of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), and like leaders before him, Macron has been staunchly defending it.

But following Brexit, there's a large hole in the budget where the UK used to contribute around 75 billion euros.

On Friday the French president insisted that the CAP would not pay for the slice of the budget lost to Brexit.

In 2018 the policy took up 58 billion euros or roughly a third of the EU's spending for the year.

The CAP was introduced in 1962, and it ensures the availability of produce as well as a fair standard of living for farmers.

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