The European Union‘s common agricultural policy is without question the most economically significant policy area in EU law, as well as the area in which Union regulation has been implemented most consistently and intensely. This book contends that today, considering this comprehensive regulation of issues that are of prime economic importance – and the rich case law that this EU policy has generated – EU agricultural law cannot be treated as an isolated discipline, but must be seen in the context of general Union law.

The author first deeply explores in an unprecedented way what is meant by the expressions ‘agriculture’, ‘agricultural activity’, and ‘agricultural producer’ found in current EU legislation, and goes on to provide a detailed legal analysis in contexts from Member States to the World Trade Organization. In the course of the presentation he examines the following, among much else:

• the principle of unified markets or common prices;

• structural funds for promoting regional agricultural development;

• encouragement of local strategies based on partnership and experience-sharing networks;

• environmentally friendly agricultural measures;

• the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD);

• whether a person or undertaking produces agricultural products or processes them;

• food safety measures;

• animal welfare;

• agricultural training and research;

• ensuring a fair standard of living for the agricultural community;

• interventions concerning storage or production limitation;

• State aid schemes;

• marketing standards;

• geographical indications;

• trade with third countries;

• support for improving the environment and the countryside;

• payment of aid pursuant to the single payment scheme; and

• WTO rules on domestic support measures, import duties and restrictions, and exports.