Agriculture And The European Community

First published in 1980. From the earliest beginnings of the European Economic Community, it was recognised that a common market for agriculture would be one of the basic prerequisites for workable economic unity. And yet the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) remained a subject of much controversy and debate. The CAP, more than any other element of European policy, was seen to test the true depth of the commitment shown by Community members to the practice as well as the principle of economic integration. Agriculture and the European Community examines the reasons for the existence of the CAP and its format. It outlines the main instruments, price and structural policy, and the changing emphasis between them. It discusses in turn the effects of the CAP on producers’ income levels and on consumer prices; how far it had fulfilled the promises of the Treaty of Rome; the implications of the policy for third country trade; and its place within the Community as a whole. The study argues that, although incomes of Community farmers had improved, this is not simply the result of the CAP, nor was the geographical distribution of benefit in terms of farming income satisfactory. The policy has achieved a degree of success in securing food supplies and stabilising prices but the cost to the consumer has been high. Knowledge of the CAP had become almost essential to any understanding of modern European affairs. Agriculture and the European Community will serve as a straightforward introduction to the policy for students approaching the subject for the first time, especially in departments of Agricultural Economics, European Studies and Political Science.

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.

This book explores the extent to which EU Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) pursue sustainable agriculture in third country parties. It contends that this should be part of a duty for the EU enshrined in the Treaties to promote its fundamental values in its external action. It suggests that the extent to which this occurs in practice, may be reviewed judicially by the Court of Justice of the European Union. Against this background, selected agreements concluded by the EU with developed and developing countries (Canada, South Korea, Ukraine, Chile, SADC countries and Vietnam) are taken as case studies. The author concludes that, in spite of the remarkable progress made hitherto, EU trade policy is still far from being in line with the increasingly strong commitment of the EU to take the lead in the international arena for environmental and climate matters. This work adopts primarily a legal methodology, but it broaches the subject in interdisciplinary terms. It is addressed not only to (EU) policy-makers, but also to scholars of different fields and to the wider public interested in topics that have become of common concern for the future of our planet. With a foreword by Daniel Calleja Crespo, Director General of the European Commission - DG Environment

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.

Of the ten Central and Eastern European countries that have applied for membership in the European Union, Romania ranks among the largest and most impoverished. Romania represents the final challenge in the European Union's enlargement to the east, largely due to its major, but underdeveloped, agriculture and food sectors. The agriculture industry, which is a major component of the national economy, extends its pervasive influence to both Romanian social life and environment. Consequently, the transition towards a market oriented economic system will pose new obstacles for the country's farmers, processors, traders, and policymakers. While identifying the impediments that surround Romanian agriculture and its inevitable progression towards transition is a simple task, the challenges lie in recommending solutions. Through careful analysis of numerous recent studies on reform policies in the Romanian agri-food sector during its economic transition, this comprehensive examination offers perspicacious suggestions and insights on the following topics in particular: international trade, credit for agricultural development, price policies, and rural development. The conclusions reached are not only of domestic importance and application, they are also of immediate relevance for many post-socialist countries, for which the agri-food sector is a principal vehicle for rural development.