The main objectives of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) are increased agricultural yield; the achievement of satisfactory living standards for workers employed in agriculture; the stabilization of markets; the achievement of agricultural self-sufficiency in Europe; and the availability of farm produce at an affordable price for the consumer. In January 1962, the Council adopted the first four regulations disciplining the common market in agriculture, the first financial regulation and the first regulation on competition in the sector. Excessive Community expenditure on the support and funding of the CAP led to the first reform in 1984: it introduced “quotas” for milk and meat, the provision on “set aside” land and the programme for the early retirement of farm workers. All these measures were aimed at reducing production while at the same time guaranteeing satisfactory levels of income. The second reform of 1992 concentrated on “green” i.e. ecologically friendly production processes, reforestation and biological farming. In view of imminent EU enlargement to Eastern Europe, the document “Agenda 2000” adopted in Berlin in 1999, fixed the maximum ceilings for CAP expenditure until 2007.
