Countries benefiting from the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) should give up some of their advantages if the 10 candidate EU countries are to receive CAP aid,German Chancellor Mr Gerhard Schroeder said.
"The countries that get something should be prepared to let go of part of it," Mr Schroeder said after meeting Dutch Prime Minister Mr Jan-Peter Balkenende. He said Germany and The Netherlands agreed on this point.
Ireland would be among the biggest losers as would France, which is hostile to immediate CAP reforms.
Germany and The Netherlands are both net contributors to the CAP budget, which is by far the biggest portion of the overall EU budget in totalling €40 billion.
France, a net contributor to the general EU budget, is the main beneficiary of the CAP and President Mr Jacques Chirac has repeatedly said he is against any CAP reform before 2006.
PA