The Principle of Mutual Recognition: The Case of Agriculture

This presentation will discuss the role of the principle of mutual recognition in relation to the EU agricultural policy and the marketing of agricultural products. While agriculture may be seen as the cradle of mutual recognition, since the landmark decisions on this principle concerned agricultural products, the specific characteristics of this strongly centralized policy made it an infertile ground for the application of this principle. However, the evolution of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and of the case law of the Court of Justice paved the way for an enhanced role of free movement principles and of mutual recognition in this field. In the light of this evolution and of the debates ongoing on the reform of CAP, a wider application of the principle of mutual recognition in agriculture may be envisaged.