The European Budget in the Years 2007 to 2013 and the Common Agricultural Policy

The EU budget for the new financial period of 2007 to 2013 represents a compromise with which no-one is truly satisfied. The controversial debate which preceded it was unable to produce a radical reform of the EU’s finances, particularly as regards the Common Agricultural Policy. The differences in the level of wealth in the EU countries and regions will therefore be reduced more slowly than would otherwise have been possible.