ABSTRACT: EU agricultural policy has undergone significant reform over the past twenty years. EU policy-makers are currently engaged in negotiations on the agricultural policy framework for the coming 2014-20 period. This presentation will first discuss the significance and direction of the reforms to date, drawing on a recent OECD report which has reviewed these efforts. We then review the relative importance of the different drivers of reform, including budget costs, external pressures, the role of the Commission and changing agendas, in the decision-making context of the European Union. We conclude by evaluating the likely significance of the current negotiations on the new CAP regulations for the reform process.

SPEAKER BIO: Alan Matthews is president of the European Association of Agricltural Economists and professor emeritus of agricultural policy in the Department of Economics at Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland.