COMMON AGRICULTURAL POLICY: A EUROPEAN JOURNEY - THEN, NOW AND THE FUTURE

The reform process of the CAP has been, till now, driven by market and financial factors. The Mid Term Review, however, reveals that new important issues have emerged. The impact of the next main events, the ongoing WTO Round and the enlargement, on the CAP are examined. The analysis shows that the Mid Term Review is mainly inspired by an attempt to deliver a prompt political response to the concerns of EU citizens, although, on the market side, it goes beyond the line drawn by Agenda 2000 anticipating part of the reform supposed to be needed after 2006 in preparation of the CAP for the enlarged EU. The new tools introduced by the Proposal may be seen to contribute at restoring market conditions in the EU agricultural sector and at promoting higher level of positive externalities output. After a preliminary examination of the new reform Proposal, the document highlights the main difficulties it may encounter in the approval process, the questions that need to be explored and the inconsistencies with the main long term goal of the 'European model of agriculture.