Common Agricultural Policy

The Common Agricultural Policy was launched by the European Economic Community on 14 January 1962, following 140 hours of negotiation among the six founding member states, to establish a unified system of market regulation, price support and customs protection for major agricultural commodities including grains, pig meat, poultry, eggs, fruits, vegetables and wine, effective that August. Built on three core principles, a unified internal market with free movement of agricultural goods at common prices, preference for internal-market products over foreign imports through common tariffs, and shared financing of agricultural programs across member states, the policy aimed to provide both affordable food for European consumers and a fair standard of living for European farmers, and it remains, more than sixty years after its launch, one of the largest and most consequential agricultural policy frameworks in the world.