Publisher's Synopsis
This volume is a study of present and future Common Agricultural Policy in the European Union. It focuses on the practicality of policy proposals in the face of huge challenges, especially in the context of EU enlargement to the east.;The Common Agricultural Policy has ben important, arguably the most important, joint policy of the European Union for nearly 30 years and still accounts for over half of its expenditure. Long seen as a disaster by economists, many European governments are reluctant to face the political upheaval of further reforms which could benefit consumers, taxpayers and much of the rest of EU industry and services.;This study analyzes the factors which will impact on the CAP over the next few years and offers suggestions for the future direction of EU agricultural policy. The changing market for food products, environmental pressures and evolving technological developments all provide the backdrop against which the influences of continuing budgetary constraints and the attitudes of member states will operate. Outside the EU itself, GATT and developments in central and Eastern Europe will add to the need for new policy directions. Each of these factors is considered before some coherent and practical proposals are made for how European agricultural policy might develop in the future.
