Major Policies in the European Union - Essay Example

1990 commenced with the seeking increased reduction on the market price support, and support for direct payments (1992, and 1999 reforms), and certain reforms which were as recent as 2003, of promoting decoupled direct payments as opposed to the coupled direct subsidies. The underlying objective of CAP reforms was: to aim to increase agricultural productivity through technological innovation, stabilize the internal markets, ensure the availability of food supplies at reasonable prices to customers, etc. The said reforms were proposed to have significant implications, especially on Alberta/Canada agriculture. However, the reforms failed to deliver the promised returns and turned out to be much less impressive since the time they were conceived, owing to such factors as budgetary pressures, expanded membership, and external pressures that led to political pressures being imposed on the Union which ultimately succumbed to such external threats and hence failed to deliver. Although certain liberties in terms of negotiating flexibility and export subsidies were granted to them for the Doha round of domestic support, but were too, plagued with failure owing to the limited direction and restricted market access (David Coleman, Pp. 77 – 100).

The Competition Policy of the EU was aimed at encouraging competition in the European countries since it would lead to lowered prices and increased choices for European consumers. The current policy is governed by article 81of the treaty ended to be addressed by ensuring taking prompt and strict action against those business practices that discouraged or restricted competition, examining mergers to gauge their effect on reducing competition, opening up competition in those areas which were previously controlled by State-run monopolies, and by cooperating with other competition authorities worldwide. The competition policy has been instrumental in shaping the economic and social integration of the member states by encouraging optimum returns facilitated by appropriate incentives to pursue their production efficiencies. Its role in controlling mergers and ensuring that they do not restrict competition has turned out to be commercially viable and hence immensely successful (Stephen Martin, 105 – 117).  The Science & Technology Policy was aimed at establishing growth objectives in the fields of education, health, and economic reforms. The EU sought to become the most dynamic and knowledge-based economy in the world that strived to establish itself as a capable entity with the potential of encouraging sustainable economic growth. However, due to certain inherent problems in the policy structure, the desired aims and objectives failed to materialize leading to another significant failure of an EU policy reform (Peter Stubbs, 130 – 159). EU’s regional policy aimed at redistributing funds from the wealthier states to more deserving ones and mainly sought the economic rehabilitation and upliftment of certain regions in the EU. However, of several other reasons for the failure of the regional policy, the inability to allocate the predetermined financial assistance towards the framed objectives, dominant bureaucratic rules, and inefficiency to comply with the political center is considered to be the major reason for the policy’s untimely collapse (Gabrielle Tondl, Pp. 171 – 177). The social policy that strived to approach critical policy areas such as public health, gender equality, and disability reforms failed to garner much support since its obvious negligence to give due significance and attention to such issues as improving the position and status of the elderly and disabled populace and shifted their attention more towards pursuing economic reforms (David Purdy, 200 – 212).