20 July Agriculture Council

ALL EU national governments except Denmark, Sweden and the UK oppose or have serious reservations over plans to launch free trade negotiations between the Union and the five-nation South American trading alliance Mercosur, it emerged at this week's meeting of EU farm ministers. Austrian Agriculture Minister Wilhelm Molterer, who was chairing the first Agriculture Council of the Austrian presidency, said: "A lot of delegations expressed criticism because they foresee implications for European agriculture."