Mandelson "hell-bent" on free and fair trade

By Penny Hawthorne | 8 November 2005

Today's Irish Independent reports EU trade commissioner is upsetting special interests:

EU Commissioner Peter Mandelson is hell-bent on exceeding his mandate and is willing to sell out agriculture in WTO negotiations, ICSA president Malcolm Thompson told farmers who protested outside the British Embassy yesterday. [ISCA is the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association.]

The protest was specifically targeted at the UK because the UK has used its presidency of the EU to stifle debate and analysis on the EU position at Council of Ministers meetings, said Mr Thompson.

Meanwhile, a new report from Oxfam says that subsidies are overwhelmingly paid to big agriculture rather than small farmers. Oxfam says that CAP "a gravy train for Europe's biggest, richest farmers".