EU farm ministers meeting in Luxembourg have stonewalled proposals from the European Commission for interim reform the EU's sugar regime.
No fewer than 10 of the 15 member states opposed the commission's proposals.
However, Britain, Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands supported the commission's approach of cutting CAP spending on sugar, which they regard as over-priced under the current crop regime.
Stonewalling French agricultural minister Jean Glavany asked the commission to re-write its proposal to find an interim package that all could agree.
But farm commissioner Franz Fischler made it clear he had no intention of diluting the proposals.
The interim policy proposals amounted to a holding operation to run for two years until a major CAP overhaul in 2002.
They included a small cut in production quotas and the abolition of storage aid.
When Glavany left the ministers' meeting this week he said he saw no chance of a break in the deadlock.
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