ABSTRACT
This chapter formulates some general propositions concerning policy reforms. It discusses previous attempts to reform the dairy policy and the barriers that hindered these attempts. The chapter gives a chronological account of European decision-making on the milk quota system and provides some thoughts on policy reforms in general. Two barriers obstructed an effective reform of the European dairy system: the European Community (EC) policy-making mechanism that constrained effective decision-making; the immobility of agricultural production factors that constrained the effectuation of the policy. The EC fell into large financial problems because of its expensive agricultural policies. Two events made the introduction of the milk quota policy possible: crisis and leadership. The financial crisis caused heated debate about the legitimacy of the dairy policy and about the core values of the EC. In turn, the French Minister of Agriculture's leadership used these discussions to change the decision-making rules and push for the restrictive quota policy.
