COMMON AGRICULTURAL POLICY (CAP)

Agriculture has been singled out not only for its strategic importance comparable with industry but also for political reasons bearing in mind that in post-war years there was a question whether western Europe would be able to feed itself and that the economies of France and Germany - the main partners in the Community - were complementary, France being predominantly an agricultural country and Germany an industrial country. Agriculture, therefore, became a self-contained policy governed by its own rules and financed from the Community budget. According to art. 39 the objectives of the Common Agricultural Policy insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(CAP); are: insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(1); to increase agricultural productivity by promoting technical progress and by ensuring the rational development of agricultural production and the optimum utilization of all factors of production, in particular labour; insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(2); thus to ensure a fair standard of living for the agricultural community, in particular by increasing the individual earnings of persons engaged in agriculture; insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(3); to stabilize markets; insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(4); to provide certainty of supplies; and insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(5); to ensure supplies to consumers at reasonable prices.