A política agrícola comum e o protecionismo agrícola europeu

Abstract

This undergraduate thesis seeks to analyze the factors that serve as justification, in the literature, of what makes possible the maintenance of the European agricultural protectionism. Before entering the main issue of the research, a historical overview of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the bases on which it was constituted, developed and modified during its more than 60 years of operation as a way of tracing the path to get to the focus of the work. It is also addressed with the same purpose the topic of protectionism of the European Union in the international context of the GATT / WTO during the Uruguay Round (1986-1994) when, finally, the agricultural sector has been in the pipeline to be subject to negotiations to reduce tariffs and subsidies. With this contextualization, the present work identified and analyzed the following reasons that enable the continuation of this highly protectionist policy: its foundational structure; the principle of agricultural multifunctionality; concern about the standard of living and income of rural workers; the strength of the groups representing the agricultural interest at national and European level - with particular emphasis on COPA-COGECA - and its influence on the decision making of European policy makers; and the conservative position of countries like France.