Some thoughts on a long-term European agro-food policy

We begin with some considerations on the world’s major agricultural and food problems in the next decades, and go on to view them in relation with the structure and approach of recent Common Agricultural Policy in Europe. The European Union has now achieved economic importance at the worldwide level, and its agricultural policy must accordingly address the main world socio-economic problems of the future. In developing a long-term agricultural policy Europe has to take into account its main needs together with those of other countries. For this purpose it would be expedient for the EU to reconsider some of its traditional policy objectives and instruments.