CAP has been called "the most expensive, most complex, and sometimes the most contentious of the policy areas in which the EU has been involved" (McCormick, 180). The reason behind this critique of the Common Agricultural policy is that it is highly complicated in its use. McCormick states, that there are two main reason the CAP is completely different than other polices of the European Union. "First, while barriers have been removed and markets opened up in almost every area of the EU economic activity, agriculture remains heavily interventionist." (McCormick, pg. 180). And second, the CAP was different because it was the only policy to be specificity included within a the Treaty of Rome, the then European Community showed there extreme support of the agriculture community. .
The initial objectives were set out in Article 39 of the Treaty of Rome. The Common Agricultural Policy had three main principles: the promotion of a single market in agriculture produce; a system of protectionism giving EU produce the advantage over other outside produce and joint financing for all European Union member states.(McCormick, 181) .
Basically the European Union maintains prices for the produce that the farmers can sell keeping smaller farms running and not truly allowing an open market. In turn they, also place high tariffs on imported agricultural produce to make the EU's made goods the better buy at the market. Pretty much the European Union controls the prices guaranteeing certain market pricing for locally produced items. Specifically there are four different types of pricing the Agricultural Ministers create for the farmers. They are target prices, intervention prices, threshold prices, and entry prices. The target prices are the price that the European Union hopes a farmer can receive on their own in the marker place. This artificially set price is high in comparison to the world market price.
