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1) The context of the CAP development Even before the then European Community (EC) came into existence in 1958, agriculture was a sensitive issue for most European governments. Near-famine conditions in much of post-war Europe made food security a national priority. The centrality of peasant proprietorship in European political culture, the romantic lure of the land, and the emergence of a highly influential farmers' lobby gave agriculture added political salience. A decline in the relative economic weight of the primary sector and a corresponding drop in farmers' incomes raised the political stakes. Not surprisingly, by the mid-1950's agriculture had become a heavily protected and subsidised sector. These traditional government interventionist measures, widely used to protect agricultural price levels and buttress farmers' earnings, were powers which governments were loath to give up, but in an environment of general support for market integration as a whole in the EC. Agricultural interests were successful...

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