ABSTRACT
The last ten years have represented a period of major changes for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The first elements for substantial change were introduced with the so-called MacSharry Reform in 1992. More specifically, a market orientation process of the CAP started with the establishment of partially decoupled aid and a significant reduction of guaranteed prices for farmers. The core elements of the 1992 intervention found their last expression in the guidelines and instruments shaping the Fischler Reform in 2003. On this occasion the decoupling was extended to a wider range of agricultural products and it was deepened, with the complete decoupling between financial support and farmers’ choices. Simultaneously, this aid has been linked to the compliance of a set of measures concerning the environmental sustainability of the whole sector.
