In order to meet the increasing economic and environmental challenges faced by the European farming industry, the EU has advocated a new 'European Model of Agriculture' that will provide a competitive and diverse agricultural sector that is environmentally responsible and addresses issues of food quality and animal welfare.

Implementing such a range of policies is requiring the EU to pass a large amount of legislation. This book sets out to analyse whether the legislative framework for this model can deliver these policy objectives.

Tension between the EU model and the global economy as supervised by the WTO, the emphasis on environmental protection, and the place of agriculture in the wider rural economy are all issues at the heart of the present debate. This book provides early consideration of the mid-term review of the Common Agricultural Policy and is therefore essential reading for academics, practioners, and policy makers in the field.