FOCUS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE RECENT REFORM OF CAP AND EU REGIONAL POLICY

Abstract

Agriculture and its agricultural policy had important role in the period of transformation of EC into the EU, by signing the Maastricht Treaty between members in 1992. This had given a new role to agriculture on the EU market, which required the "Common Agricultural Policy" (CAP) to be established. That represented significant reform in the EU agricultural policy, which defined the objectives of encouraging the growth of production volume of the basic agricultural products. Common Agricultural Policy had endured fundamental reform in June 2003, which created long-term perspectives for sustainable agriculture and rural development. The EU Common Agricultural Policy must be directed as an integrated policy which contributes to other elements of the state policy, above all in the direction of rural area development. Today CAP reflects almost half century of long change of priorities. The initial objective to increase food production, regardless of costs, is replaced with controlling the production surpluses and excessive costs. Redirection towards fulfillment of various social and ecological goals is also carried out through mechanisms which are in great deal separated from the production.