Agriculture has a small, and declining, importance in employment and income generation within the EU, but a political importance well beyond its economic impact. The EU's common agricultural policy (CAP) has often been the source of conflict between the EU and its trade partners within first the GATT, and then the WTO. In the Doha Round agriculture was again a sticking point, resulting in setbacks and delays. The position of the EU is pivotal. Due to the comparatively limited competitiveness of the EU's agricultural sector, and the EU's institutionally constrained ability to undertake CAP reform, the CAP sets limits for agricultural trade liberalization blocking progress across the full compass of the WTO agenda. Therefore, the farm trade negotiation, with the CAP at its core, is the key to understanding the dynamics of trade rounds in the WTO.
The book, written by a political scientist and an agricultural economist, applies theory on ideas to explain how the agricultural sector came to be included in the Single Undertaking that resulted in the Uruguay Round agreements, and how this led to a dynamic interplay between CAP reform and the possibility of further agricultural trade liberalization within the WTO, thereby providing useful insights into international trade relations.

An Inside View of the CAP Reform Process is about EU decision-making, in particular for the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). From its formation in the 1960s through to 1992 the CAP was almost immune to change; but from 1992 a series of major reforms took place. Many authors have asked why and how this change came about, including academics writing from political economy and political science traditions, and EU officials themselves. With the benefit of Arlindo Cunha's intimate insider's knowledge, this book delves into the mysteries of the policy making process by assessing the MacSharry, Agenda 2000, and Fischler reforms, explaining how, and why, CAP reform became part of the political agenda, and the decisions that were taken. It focuses in particular on the role of the Commission and the Commissioner for Agriculture, the Council of Ministers and its Presidency, and the European Parliament. Drawing upon the economics and political science literatures as appropriate, the book adopts a heuristic political economy approach.
The MacSharry reform was much influenced by the Uruguay Round of GATT negotiations, and the 2003 Fischler reform by the Doha Round of WTO negotiations. A Delphi survey of key decision-makers, assessing their perception of the drivers of policy reform, and an analysis of subsequent CAP reform, including the Health Check in 2008 and preparations for the post-2013 CAP review, round-off the discussion. The former EU Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Franz Fischler, contributes a Foreword.