ABSTRACT
The pursuit of the aims of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), agreed upon at the 1957 Treaty of Rome, is based on the well known principles for the operation of the CAP, which were themselves set in 1958 and made more specific in the 1960s with particular institutional measures for the production and trade of agricultural products. The average size of Greek farm holdings is the smallest in the EU and has not increased notably over the past thirty years. The fragmentation of landholdings remains a serious problem, despite voluntary efforts and mandatory redistribution. Dairy production has also increased and the problem of imports is not as serious as in the case of meat production, despite the appearance in the Greek market of new products such as highly pasteurized milk. Protection, social cohesion and economic welfare constitute the central goal of the national strategy for the rural population.
