Le bilan de santé de la Politique Agricole Commune

On May 21 next the Commission should approve the settlement proposals in line with the « assessment of the state of the CAP ». This article scans the various CAP reforms since 1992, to put the legislative project into its context. It explains why it should not be another reform but a continuation of the work accomplished, particularly since 2003. Past experience now allows to set aside a certain conservativeness that was applied (partial uncoupling), which, combined with market trends, will help the gradual removal of milk quotas. In addition, the emergence of new challenges, such as the consequences of climate changes, and the increase in biofuels, should also be taken into account. The purpose is also to initiate a debate on the post-2013 Common Agricultural Policy. Special attention is given to risk prevention and agricultural crisis management, a subject central to the next agricultural policy talks, where the limitations of public, especially community, intervention, need to be emphazised.SCOPUS: ar.j