European trade policy in agricultural products

Thirty years after the signing of the Treaty of Rome, the number of member States of the European Community has increased from six to twelve. In 1987, the Community is a more heterogeneous group than it was in 1957. The policies established to meet the needs of the 'original' six have to be adapted to meet the additional demands of the 'new' six.The process of adaptation is most evident in the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), the policy which has been described as the 'motor of European integration'. The need to adapt the CAP arises from criticisms of the operation of the policy by some member States and the Community's taxpayers. However, these criticisms should not dictate the process of adaptation. The interests, social, economic, and political, which lie behind the CAP must also be considered. The Community Institutions, therefore, have a delicate balancing out to perform as they adapt the policy in the light of these diverse interests.One element which is missing from this balancing act is the demands of other countries. These countries are affected by the impact the CAP has on the international trading environment and the agricultural concessions they obtained by concluding agreements with the Community. The reason why these demands are not considered is that the Community does not have an explicitly formulated agricultural trade policy.The absence of this policy lessens the impact of a range of external Community policies and retards the full development of other internal policies. Through an analysis of the international trading environment, the association and development cooperation policies of the Community, this paper outlines the negative impact which the CAP has externally. To counter this, the paper develops a Common Agricultural Trade Policy which will allow the Community to, maintain the benefits of integration, enhance the development of other common policies and have a positive impact on agricultural trade and external policies. Just as the CAP has been described as the motor of integration, the common agricultural trade policy may be described as the vehicle for growth, internally and externally