EU welcomes call to scrap farm aid

BRUSSELS, July 5 (UPI) -- The European Commission has welcomed U.S. President George W. Bush's promise to scrap subsidies to farmers if the EU responds in kind.

"I am very encouraged to see an apparent willingness by the United States to look seriously at farm reform and put the U.S. Farm Bill on the table," said Mariann Fischer Boel, the European commissioner for agriculture. "We in Europe have just put in place the biggest ever reform of the Common Agricultural Policy. We are prepared to bind that reform contractually into a deal in the World Trade Organization, but our partners must match our ambition."

Bush made his comments in an interview with British channel ITV on the eve of the G8 summit in Scotland. While welcoming the move, Fischer Boel said the United States should follow the EU's lead in removing export subsidies to farmers. She also called on Washington to scrap trade-distorting production-linked payments to American farmers.

"I hope the President's words can be translated into action," said the senior European official.