ABSTRACT
In the thirty-five years of its existence, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has contributed decisively in the transformation of agriculture for member states by means of a common rural development philosophy, common institutions, and an extensive set of policy measures. One of the peculiarities of European Mediterranean farming systems has to do with the enduring of an archaic social and agronomic form for large private landholdings, and that for a longer time period than in Northern Europe. The need for convergence between the agriculture of Mediterranean countries and the agriculture of the countries of the North led to actions aimed at the strengthening of this cohesion. During the 1980s, in sum, the countries of the North and the countries of the South of the EU differ by the manner in which they resorted to Community funds.
