8. European Integration in the Image and the Shadow of Agriculture

Author(s):  
Ann-Christina L. Knudsen

This chapter examines the common agricultural policy (CAP) in the context of political rather than economic terms. It first provides an overview of the development of the European agricultural welfare state, explaining why and how agriculture was able to claim and uphold a special position in Europe. It then considers CAP's achievements and unintended consequences and cites financial pressure as a strong incentive for CAP reform in the early 1990s, as was the pernicious international impact of the policy. It shows how concerns about the environment and food safety, and about the possible impact of European Union enlargement into Central and Eastern Europe, maintained the momentum for reform. Given the broad political commitment to supporting farm incomes, and sustaining a viable countryside in the EU, however, the chapter suggests that CAP is likely to endure in some form or other.

Author(s):  
Maryla Bieniek-Majka ◽  
Marta Guth

The aim of this study is to determine changes in the structure of horticultural farms in EU countries in the years 2007-2017 and their incomes and determine the share of subsidies of the Common Agricultural Policy in the income of horticultural farms in studied groups. Horticultural farms from the European Union Farm Accountancy Data Network (EUFADN) of all EU countries were surveyed. A dynamic analysis of the structure of farm numbers in particular groups of economic size (ES6) was carried out, and then the average change in income and the share of subsidies in income within these groups in 2007 and 2017 were presented. As a result of the conducted research, changes in the number of horticultural farms in various groups of economic size were taken into account and the assumptions concerning the decreasing scale of fragmentation of horticultural farms were confirmed by a decrease in the number of the economically weakest groups and an increase in the number of medium and large farms. It was noted that, in the studied groups, the strongest income growths concerned farms with medium or high economic strength, which may mean that income had a significant impact on the process. Moreover, it results from the conducted research that existing institutional solutions additionally supported the tendency to reduce the scale of fragmentation of horticultural farms in the EU-12 due to the fact that the shares of subsidies were higher in groups with higher economic strength.


2012 ◽  
Vol 49 (No. 2) ◽  
pp. 62-66
Author(s):  
D. Ahner

The paper deals with the particular stages of development of the EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in the last forty years. The process and impacts of CAP reforms are analyzed for the particular production industries of agriculture. The paper also presents a detailed description of Agenda 2000 and mid-term review of the Common Agricultural Policy in 2002 that brought about many proposals for the future working of CAP after accession of Central and Eastern European countries.


Author(s):  
Mads Dagnis Jensen ◽  
Peter Nedergaard

This chapter examines Denmark’s different positions on European Union policies which vary in terms of the degree to which sovereignty has been transferred to the EU. Specifically, it traces trade policy (very high transfer), agricultural policy (high transfer), internal market (moderate transfer), and opt-outs (low transfer) diachronically to illuminate the extent to which positions have changed over time and the underlying factors behind these changes. While the level of politicization varies between the policy areas, and party political differences play a role, the general picture that emerges is interest based. According to this approach, Denmark is positive towards giving up sovereignty regarding policies it benefits from economically, while it is more reluctant towards policies involving the transfer of sovereignty and money that are not offset by net economic benefits. In this chapter, this is demonstrated through an analysis stretching back to the decades before Danish membership to the European Union. Denmark also seems to change policy positions when the economic benefits for the country changes, as seen in the case of the Common Agricultural Policy.


2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 233-255
Author(s):  
Ivana Stojanović

AbstractApplication of The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of the European Union implies the existence of a single market (without customs duties on mutual trade), the community’s priority in meeting the needs for agricultural products (protection against imports) and the existence of financial solidarity (joint financing). Joining the European Union for new member states implies the termination of the implementation of the existing national agricultural policy and the the beginning of the implementation of the CAP. Although membership in the European Union implies many advantages, the period after joining this community can be quite economically unstable for some countries. One of the most significant problems is an increase in agricultural product prices and a rise in the general price level (inflation). The above can be confirmed by a simple empirical analysis of the economic indicators of the countries that joined the EU together in the period from 2004 until 2007.


2020 ◽  
pp. 95-101
Author(s):  
Ognyan Stoichkova

The article deals with the issues related to financing of agricultural industry in Bulgaria from the EU funds and programs. The outcomes of European support under the first and second pillars of the Common Agricultural Policy of the European Union, in which Bulgaria has been participating since 2007, are analyzed. Besides, the positive effects on Bulgaria’s agriculture as well as the problems facing the agricultural sector in the new programming period are highlighted.


Author(s):  
Erika Quendler ◽  
Christina Mayer ◽  
Karl Michael Ortner

After joining the European Union (EU) in 1995 Austria adopted the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). This chapter reviews the changes in agricultural production and the economic situation of agriculture since the accession to the EU. The analysis is primarily based on macro-economic data from the Economic Accounts for Agriculture (EAA) over the period between 1995 and 2014. Select examples identify the developments applicable for Austria – also in comparison to other EU countries and groups of countries as well as to Switzerland. Expectations and forecasts regarding the consequences of integration, e.g. changes in the price levels, have been more or less fulfilled but there is a need for further research on the development of regions and on special issues such as the resilience of Austrian agriculture.


2013 ◽  
Vol 59 (No. 2) ◽  
pp. 49-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.J.P.L. Lampreia dos Santos

The main objective of this work is to characterize and segment the farms of the twenty-seven Member States of the European Union (EU). For this purpose, the techniques of cluster analysis and cluster of cases segment the farms, based on a sample of farms of the Farm Accountancy and Information Network. The results show the existence of four types of farms in the EU that are distinguishable by their (i) structural characteristics, in particular, for their Utilized Agricultural Area, the total output, by the percentage of contract work and the total work, (ii) by their financial characteristics, i.e., by their total assets and the cash flow of the EU farms, and (iii) by their guidance and the importance of subsidies on these farms. These results thus suggest the definition of the Common Agricultural Policy differentiated and adapted to the existing four clusters of countries. We suggest the development of typologies of farms in the EU, with a more robust database involving different EU regions that constitute the different countries in order to obtain the robust types of farms from different European regions.  


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document