But it must accept the practical consequences of such a commitment and send signals which encourage rather than frustrate. But we are conscious that we need to make proposals here and hope that we can make proposals beneficial to both the European Union and its CEE suppliers. I turn briefly from burying the CAP to praising it. The CAP had its roots in the need post-war to create stability and food security in Europe, and we should recognise that in that it has largely succeeded. Whatever we feel about the CAP, the need for the European Union to have some system of regulation for agricultural support is clear.
All European countries are committed to supporting farming and rural life.
As was said by the noble Lord, Lord Barber of Tewkesbury, the Germans have a strong emotional attachment to their pattern of small farms and to the communities and environments that it has produced. They are also strongly influenced by green issues. The French take enormous pride in their food industry, quite reasonably. They have a mission to produce and export. They want to see their countryside used and inhabited.