A Fight Over Farms Ends, Opening Way to Wider Europe

One of the most contentious issues for the European Union as it prepares to admit 10 new members are the farm subsidies to the Eastern European economies. The question of who should foot the bill generates the greatest wrangling. Yet, much of the disagreement has suddenly disappeared now that France and Germany have negotiated a scheme in which subsidies to French farmers will be slowly reduced and then redirected to Eastern Europe beginning in 2007. While the farm subsidy issue has died down, the battle of Turkey’s accession to the EU wages on. The EU argues that although Turkey has made considerable progress in meeting the requirements for membership, it still lacks adequate human rights compliance and needs greater political reform. Turkey is a key member of NATO and the US would like to see it join the EU sooner rather than later. Although the current president of the EU claims that the US has not pressured the EU to set a date for Turkey’s admittance, the EU’s foreign affairs representative, Javier Solana, asserts that accepting Turkey into the union is not like bringing Mexico into a free trade agreement. According to Solana, the EU “treats Turkey better than [the US] treats Mexico.” The Europeans apparently feel that the US has stuck its nose in too far. – YaleGlobal