Chapter 23 Answer guidance

Q3) Why did the 1992 reform take place?

See section 23.3

  • Heavy influence of international factors and then internal drivers
  • Early 1980s: Significant instabilities in global agricultural markets
  • International consensus was the liberalization of agriculture: agricultural policy instruments had to be ‘decoupled’ from production.
  • 1986: General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) Uruguay Round opened
  • USA led call for end to the CAP’s unfair, protectionist practices.
  • Further discussion was suspended until the matter was satisfactorily resolved.
  • February 1991: The Commission delivered a radical reform proposal to the Agricultural Council.
  • May 1992: A less radical reform was agreed by the Council.
  • Implementation of this radical shift was taken by Helmut Kohl (German leader) and François Mitterrand (French leader) who were keen to conclude the GATT Uruguay Round.
    • Germany had important interests in non-agricultural negotiations.
    • Secretly, the pressure in France came from the biggest cereal growers with direct interest in the reform.
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