Farm subsidies row
July 10, 2009
Bavarian Agriculture Minister Helmut Brunner made the announcement following a visit to Munich, the capital of the southern German state, by European Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer-Boel.
"The legal situation is clear. Germany is obliged to publish the details of beneficiaries of the Common Agricultural Policy for the whole country. Every other member state has done so," Fischer-Boel said.
"This is taxpayers' money, so it is very important that people know where it is being spent," she added. "Transparency should also improve the management of these funds by reinforcing public control of how the money is used."
Germany had dragged its feet in respecting an EU regulation requiring all 27 member states to detail the beneficiaries of generous European farm subsidies by late April, doing so only in mid-June.
But Bavaria refused to publish the data, prompting the EU to say it would take Germany to court, while German farmers made it clear they would resist pressure from Brussels for the data to be released, challenging the regulation in national courts on the grounds that it violates their privacy.
Hans-Michael Goldmann, the free market liberal FDP party's agriculture expert, welcomed the move by Bavaria, calling it "an intelligent decision" which would keep the German taxpayer from having to pick up the bill for any European fine. The disclosure of the payments is "an important condition in the securing of European funds," Goldmann added.
Agricultural subsidies are the largest item on the EU's budget, and other countries have objected to them in world trade talks.
Germany receives approximately six billion euros ($8.3 billion) in farm subsidies from the European Union every year.
The data already published shows that food companies receive the highest subsidies in Germany. Most money goes to sugar producers, dairies, sweet goods manufacturers and meat processing plants. The highest subsidies in agriculture go to large agrarian enterprises in eastern Germany.
nda/AP/AFP/dpa
Editor: Nancy Isenson