| 1972 | New measures to promote modernisation of agriculture, professional qualifications for farmers and start-up assistance for young farmers.
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| 1975 | First assistance programme for mountainous regions and areas with natural handicaps.
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| 1979 | "Co-responsibility" levy requires farmers to pay a penalty for serious over-production in the dairy sector.
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| 1984 | Milk quota system set up to control the volume of production.
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| 1988 | Budgetary guidelines set a maximum ceiling for the CAP budget.
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| | "Stabilisers" set a maximum limit on quantities guaranteed to receive support payments.
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| | A new approach to Community structural policy favours a more effective, global strategy for rural and less-favoured areas, and closer co-ordination between the Guidance Section and other Structural Funds.
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| 1992 | Price support is cut for key products to bring them closer to world market prices—farmers receive compensatory direct payments.
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| | Land is "set-aside" from agricultural production, to lie fallow or be used for non-food-production such as bio-fuels; financial support goes to less intensive farming methods.
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| | Introduction of three new measures to accompany the 1992 reform: the agri-environment and afforestation schemes and an improved early retirement scheme for farmers aged over 55.
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| 1999 | The political agreement at Council level in March 1999, and the conclusions of the Berlin Summit on Agenda 2000 later the same month, resulted in the adoption of 10 new Regulations and the decision on the level of allocations for the reform of the agricultural sector. The agricultural budget will be restricted to an average of EUR 38 billion annually for market policy (including veterinary and plant health measures) and EUR 4.3 billion for rural development measures.
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| | The new regulations, which will come into force (with the exception of milk) from the year 2000 onwards, concern the arable crops, beef, milk and wine sectors, the new rural development framework, the horizontal rules for direct support schemes, and the financing of the CAP.
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