It made the call in a joint statement after a meeting of the G22 to discuss the renewal of the EU farm policy, or Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), which is due to be renewed in 2013.
"In the face of climate change, global political and food insecurity, the volatility of market prices and the resurgence of health crises, only an ambitious, continent-wide policy with adequate resources can safeguard Europe's independence," the countries said in the declaration.
French farm minister Bruno Le Maire, who chaired the meeting, said the group was against the kind of drastic cut in the EU's farm budget floated in a recent paper from the EU's executive arm, but that the 22 countries had not discussed budget questions during the meeting (EurActiv 27/10/09).
The European Commission is mulling a radical overhaul of the bloc's budget - now worth €125 billion euros annually - that would shift spending away from agriculture towards innovation, climate and energy.
The CAP currently eats up more than 40% of the 27-country bloc's budget.
"We can't have as a starting point the idea of reducing the CAP budget by 30 to 40%," Le Maire told reporters after the meeting in reference to the European Commission paper.
Five countries absent
Regarding the absence of five EU members from the Paris meeting, Le Maire said the French initiative formed part of an "open and constructive process" towards renewing the CAP.
The other five countries notably include Britain, a traditional opponent of France in farm negotiations, although French officials said a British representative would join the group of 22 later for lunch in an "observer" role.
The Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and Malta also declined to attend the Paris meeting.
An EU diplomat told Reuters ahead of the joint statement the draft text produced on Thursday was "touching on the lowest common denominator without getting into very much detail".
"There is a certain level at which you can find consensus and when you get to specifics, it is difficult to get a consensus among 22 countries," the diplomat added.
Meanwhile, the Dutch Agriculture Ministry said such a meeting should have taken place in Brussels.
"Our minister is not in favour of the fact that small groups of countries are talking about the future of European agricultural policy. She prefers to do this in the Council itself," a spokeswoman at the ministry said.
Another fautline in farm talks has been the lower level of direct subsidies given to countries that have joined the EU this decade, and the Polish representative at the meeting said Poland would be adding a paper on this issue to the joint declaration.
"That is an essential point in further negotiations for Poland," Andrzej Dycha, Polish undersecretary of state for agriculture, told reporters.
(EurActiv with Reuters.)
