This book offers a comprehensive analysis of the Common Agricultural Policy which imposes high costs on taxpayers and consumers yet has proved very difficult to reform. Particular emphasis is placed on new developments affecting the shape of the CAP, including the outcome of the GATT Uruguay Round negotiations, Eastern enlargement, and developments in environmental policy. A distinctive feature of the book is the attention given to situating European agriculture within its global context and in relation to the food processing and agricultural supply industries.
The Oxford Handbook of the European Union brings together numerous acknowledged specialists in their field to provide a comprehensive and clear assessment of the nature, evolution, workings, and impact of European integration.
This book is the first to document the reform of the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and to analyse the political and economic factors which determined the outcome of the negotiations. The policy (non-)reform will affect the world's global food security and agricultural ...
In 2007 the farm subsidies of the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy took over 40 percent of the entire EU budget. How did a sector of diminishing social and economic importance manage to maintain such political prominence? The conventional answer focuses on the negotiations among the member states of the European Community from 1958 onwards. That story holds that the political priority, given to the CAP, as well as its long-term stability, resides in a basic devil's bargain between French agriculture and German industry. In Farmers on Welfare, a landmark new account of the making of the single largest European policy ever, Ann-Christina L. Knudsen suggests that this accepted narrative is rather too neat. In particular, she argues, it neglects how a broad agreement was made in the 1960s that related to national welfare state policies aiming to improve incomes for farmers. Drawing on extensive archival research from a variety of political actors across the Community, she illustrates how and why this supranational farm regime was created in the 1960s, and also provides us with a detailed narrative history of how national and European administrations gradually learned about this kind of cooperation.By tracing how the farm welfare objective was gradually implemented in other common policies, Knudsen offers an alternative account of European integration history.
Integrating environmental policies into the policies of all other sectors is the core European environmental policy. But there has been no thorough investigation of the political process involved. This volume provides the first. It analyses the process of policy integration - the greening of public policy - across the relevant sectors and countries. It finds significant variation from sector to sector and from country to country, and analyses the reasons for this. (Surprisingly the UK, traditionally the 'dirty man' of Europe is far more actively engaged than environmental 'progressives' such as Germany.) It identifies the obstacles to integration and offers solutions for policy formulation, decision making and implementation at the relevant political levels.
The European Union of presently 27 member states has a large variety within its own boundaries. Still there are common policies for agriculture, food and rural areas, although with many differences in relation to specific conditions in member states. Due to policy reforms, starting with the Mac Sharry reform in 1992, the European Union is on a long-term path to a freer and open market with a lot of attention for food quality and the development of rural areas. For agriculture the `traditional¿ market and price policy is largely replaced by decoupled direct income support. Policies in relation to food quality, food safety and animal welfare as well as environment, landscape and rural development receive increased attention at EU and member state level. The European Union is becoming a leader in food standards and rural policy. Many well-known specialists contributed their up-to-date knowledge to this book. It has been developed in close collaboration with government officials and scientists, also in relation to courses organised by Wageningen Business School. The book can be used for scientific and professional education (bachelor level), but could function easily as background text in master courses. Business executives, government officials and participants of non-governmental organisations will find this book to be of interest.
Agriculture, forestry and fi shery statistics provides a selection of recent, topical data. Information is presented for the European Union (EU) and its Member States, and is supplemented (when available) with data for the United Kingdom, EFTA members, candidate countries to the EU and potential candidates. This publication aims to cover some of the most popular data within the domain of agriculture, forestry and fi shery statistics as well as some of the wider food chain. It may be viewed as an introduction to European statistics in this area and provides a starting point for those who wish to explore the broad range of data that are freely available on Eurostat's website.
Following an introductory discussion of the Treaty provisions on agriculture, this illuminating work examines the four regulations that currently govern the Common Agricultural Policy in the areas of Direct Payments, Rural Development, Finance, and the Common Organisation of the markets and considers their interpretation by the European Courts. It concludes with an astute assessment of the proposals for further reform, which will give Member States greater discretion in fine-tuning the principles of the policy established at European level to the particular characteristics of their agricultural sector.
The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is central to both economic and environmental developments in Europe. But with the advent of new environmental legislation and political change in Europe the CAP faces increasing pressure to reform. European Agriculture provides a comprehensive breakdown of the workings of the CAP and its impact on farming in Europe. The author discusses every aspect of European agricultural policy, production and trade, from environmental contraints and the impact of biotechnology, to the role of European farming in the world food supply system. Posing direct questions about the recent 1992 agricultural reform, the 1994 GATT agreement and the reasons for the expensive continuation of the CAP, European Agriculture analyses the economic, political and environmental implications of pursuing present farming policy and provides a provocative commentary on the agricultural future of Europe.
