"The Common Agriculture Policy has adapted both to internal needs and challenges and to international developments. However, nothing that we have achieved so far in stability of food supply can be taken as granted!...Agriculture is not only a food producer but also a provider of public goods, which are important to the European citizen – environmental protection, optimal use of natural resources, preventive measures for climate change, animal welfare."

– Dacian Cioloş
EU Agriculture & Rural Development Commissioner

The aim of the EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is to provide farmers with a reasonable standard of living, to furnish consumers with quality food at fair prices and to preserve EU rural heritage and environment.

Towards a More Efficient Agricultural Policy…

Established in 1962 when the founding members of the EU were emerging from more than a decade of food shortages, the Common Agricultural Policy began by subsidizing production of basic farm products in the interests of self-sufficiency and securing enough food. This policy, however, resulted in almost permanent surpluses of a number of products.
Fundamental reforms of the CAP, begun 1992 with the latest round in 2003, have radically transformed and reduced the levels of support offered to EU farmers at a time when the number of EU farms has steadily increased with EU enlargement. Subsidies on quantities produced have largely been replaced by payments to farmers to guarantee that they receive a decent income and are linked to compliance with broader objectives. These include environmental standards, food safety and the health of animals and plants. Farmers are also expected to keep their land in good condition in order to preserve traditional rural landscapes, birds and other wildlife.

By paying increasing attention to hygiene, food quality and animal welfare, the EU addresses concerns that more intensive farming and animal husbandry were to blame for “mad cow disease,” dioxin in milk, artificial hormones in meat and other food-related health scares.

The 2003 reforms also equipped the CAP for EU enlargement in May 2004, when the 15 Member States became 25 and the number of farmers in the EU increased by nearly 70%.

… and Freer World Trade

Moving from support for products to support for farmers leads to fairer world trade, since support for the farmers who need it most reduces the risk that trade will be distorted by EU export subsidies for additional production. This has prepared the EU for the Doha Round of international trade liberalization (World Trade Organization – WTO) talks, where the EU has offered to eliminate export subsidies altogether by 2013. However, even without further liberalization, the EU is already the world's largest importer of food and the biggest market for Third World foodstuffs.

On December 15, 2009, the longest trade dispute in history--15 years long--ended, over EU banana imports. 

Contact at the European Union Delegation in Washington, DC:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , Agriculture Attaché; Delegation Staff

USEFUL Links:

European Commission Websites

• EU Agriculture and Rural Development Directorate General
• EU Agriculture & Rural Development Commissioner Dacian Cioloş
• EU Fisheries & Maritime Affairs Commissioner Maria Damanaki
• EU Agriculture, Fisheries & Food Portal

Key Issues

• Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Reform; CAP Explained; Simplifying CAP
• EU Agricultural Trade: WTO; EU Trade Directorate General; WTO Doha Round Hot Topic
• Agriculture & Food
• Rural Development
• Organic Trade Policy 

More Information

• EU Agricultural Activities
• EU Agricultural Legislative Summaries
• EU Legislation 
• Agriculture Factsheets
• Agriculture Statistics; Trade Statistics; Eurostat (EU Statistical Office) 
• Agriculture Publications