Fischler’s First Attempt to Reform the CAP

As the millennium draws to a close, it becomes necessary to reflect on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the reasons for its further reform. In 1995, Franz Fischler became the new Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development. A profound reflection stems from several new priorities: the prospect of Eastern European countries becoming members of the European Union following the fall of the Berlin Wall, the necessity of implementing a food quality policy in light of the mad cow disease outbreak, the pressing need for an agro-environmental sustainabile policy, the possibility of additional market liberalization, and the need for a comprehensive rural development policy. On this last topic, the first European Conference on Rural Development took place in Cork in 1996. Subsequently, in 1997, with the introduction of “Agenda 2000”, the Commission initiated a political debate on the future policies of the Union, including the agricultural policy. However, the conditions were not conducive to a definitive new reform of the CAP. The CAP for the 2000–2006 period reaffirms the trajectories set by the earlier MacSharry reform. Compensatory payments, now renamed direct payments, solidifies as a cornerstone measure of the CAP. The only notable change is its organization into two pillars: the first dedicated to market policies, and the second for rural development. However, the latter is assigned a very modest budget.