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New French farms minister Michel Barnier said on Tuesday his experience as a European Commissioner could help him defend the interests of French farmers within the EU and on a global level.
Barnier, 56, is familiar with the workings of the European Union from his time as commissioner for regional policy and institutional reform from 1999-2004, when he managed the second largest EU budget after agriculture.
"That's without doubt why the president and prime minister have asked me to take up this post," Barnier said after President Nicolas Sarkozy appointed him in a small cabinet reshuffle following last weekend's parliamentary election.
"There's a very important meeting in 2008, which is the evaluation of the (EU's) common agricultural policy," said Barnier, French foreign minister in 2004-05. Former President Jacques Chirac replaced Barnier after French voters rejected the European Union constitution in a referendum in May 2005.
"I will say now what I have always said when I was foreign minister: The common agricultural policy is not an archaic policy. It's modern," he told RTL radio. French farmers are dwindling in numbers but remain a powerful political lobby and a potent symbol of the country's attachment to its rural roots and gastronomic culture,
Another issue facing Barnier is World Trade Organisation (WTO) talks. The WTO is battling to forge a global free trade deal before the August holidays, fearing that the talks may collapse without a swift breakthrough.
Negotiations have already dragged on for years, with much of the wrangling centred on agriculture, where France has been reluctant to give ground over the level of EU subsidies.
France is represented at WTO talks by EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson, who needs the unanimous backing of the 27 EU member countries to sign off on any deal. Sarkozy said last month France would veto any WTO agreement that did not satisfy its requirements on farming. Referring to the talks, Barnier said on Tuesday, these negotiations were "very difficult", without expanding.

Copyright Reuters, 2007

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