THE EUROPEAN LEGISLATIVE IN THE AREA OF AGRICULTURE WITH A REVIEW ON RULES ON EUROPEAN COOPERATIVE SOCIETY

Abstract

The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is comprised of a set of rules and mechanisms, which regulate the production, trade and processing of agricultural products in the European Union (EU), with attention being focused increasingly on rural development.

The principles of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) were set out at the Stresa Conference in July 1958. In 1960, the CAP mechanisms were adopted by the six founding Member States and two years later, in 1962, the CAP came into force.

The objectives of the common agricultural policy are: (a) to increase agricultural productivity by promoting technical progress and by ensuring the rational development of agricultural production and the optimum utilization of the factors of production, in particular labor; (b) thus to ensure a fair standard of living for the agricultural community, in particular by increasing the individual earnings of persons engaged in agriculture; (c) to stabilize markets; (d) to assure the availability of supplies; (e) to ensure that supplies reach consumers at reasonable prices.

The legal basis of an agricultural policy for the whole Community is defined in Articles 32 to 38 in Title II of the EC Treaty. The Treaty of Amsterdam deleted Articles 44, 45 and 47, which had become obsolete.