The Awful Consequences of the CAP

34 Spring 1999 his article looks at the grosser absurdities and paradoxes of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The unsustainability of the CAP over the long run is well-appreciated in Western Europe but, hitherto, the emphasis has been on containing a cost that rich countries could afford. The projected eastward expansion of the European Union (EU), however, means that policies of cost containment have only a limited future. More radical answers are needed to overcome the biggest disaster to arise out of the otherwise welcome movement towards European unity.