Enlargement of the European Union and Agricultural Policy Reform

Abstract

A connection exists between enlargement of the European Union and reforms of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Based upon rational choice theory, we examine whether the member states' CAP positions are related to structures in their agricultural sectors. The overall hypothesis is that intensiveness of agricultural production corresponds to the willingness to reform the CAP. Political CAP positions, together with the development of member states' structural fundamentals, are analysed using cluster analysis. The results show that EU enlargements have extensified agricultural production at the EU level, and that extensive agricultural production in a member state is often an indicator of reduced willingness to reform. However, the intensiveness of agricultural production is only part of the explanation. Moreover, negotiation tactics play an important role for the positions on the CAP.

International institutions and domestic policy: assessing the influence of multilateral pressure on the European Union’s agricultural policy

“…As to enlargement pressure, research has focused on assessing the impact of enlargement on structural changes in the agricultural sector, specifically on whether enlargement fosters, or makes more difficult, CAP changes. Jensen et al (2009) show that EU enlargements have, for the most part, led to the expansion of EU agricultural production, and that the higher the agricultural production in a member state the less willing they are to reform the CAP. Henning and Latacz-Lohmann (2004, 42) find that the 2004 enlargement made the Council more heterogeneous in terms of the political interests represented, but also more supportive of higher levels of agricultural support.…”

The New Common Agricultural Policy: Ηow do Member States Respond to Flexibility?

“…At its beginning, CAP support was largely concentrated on ensuring a minimum price for MSs' agricultural products 2 (Ackrill et al, 2008). It was fully coupled to the quantity of agricultural output, albeit distributed without any selection mechanism tied to beneficiaries' behaviour (Greer, 2013;Jensen et al, 2009). Over time, the subsequent steps of reforms gradually recalibrated CAP objectives to make them more responsive to the emergent socio-economic needs, and to the changes within the EU scenario and the global domain.…”

“…In a similar vein, the importance of the CAP in the EU budget, despite its many detractors, as well as the rather intact status quo in the resource allocation, can be largely attributed to the organized power of the traditional CAP beneficiaries (Kauppi and Widgrén, 2009). The role of geopolitical and institutional aspects (EU enlargement, extension of the European Parliament's co-decision power) or of societal concerns (food safety, territorial development, climate change) in driving CAP reforms over time has also been largely recognized (Burrell, 2009;Cunha and Swinbank, 2009;Greer and Hind, 2012;Jensen et al, 2009;Papadopoulos, 2015;Roederer-Rynning and Schimmelfennig, 2012). Besides, different branches of literature have documented the large set of CAP determinants which in turn had a differential reflection at the country level.…”

“…The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is a prominent policy of the European Union (EU), with a central role for the entire Europe 2020 strategy (European Commission, 2010). Since the Treaty of Rome, it has regularly been recognized as a major cornerstone of the European integration process (Ackrill, 2000;Jensen et al, 2009;Stead, 2007) while its financial endowment still represents roughly 40 per cent of the total EU budget (Papadopoulos, 2015).…”

The Determinants of CAP Reform: Learning from the European Financial Crisis and CAP 2013

“…Some analysts have indeed argued that enlargements have made CAP reform more difficult. Jensen et al (2009) show that EU enlargements have, for their most part (p 332: 'The 1973 and 1995 enlargements were rather neutral or with a tendency to do the opposite'), extensified agricultural production at EU level and that extensive agricultural production in a member state is often an indicator of reduced willingness to reform. In this sense, Henning and LataczLohmann (2004) argue that the 2004 enlargement has made the Council more heterogeneous in terms of the political interests represented and more supportive of higher levels of agricultural support.…”