In a political programme hosted by Raymond Thévenin and broadcast on 13 December 1963 on RTL radio, journalists Georges Broussine from La Nation, Jean Ferniot from L’Express and Denis Baudouin from L’Indépendant debate the French position in the negotiations between the Six in Brussels on the establishment of a common agricultural market.

‘I might have a good appetite, but you’re not going to get me to swallow all that!’ [Clockwise from left: cereals, beef, butter, rice, Brussels.] The German Chancellor, Ludwig Erhard, resists the attempts made by France, represented by the Agriculture Minister, Edgar Pisani, to make him swallow French demands concerning the price of agricultural produce in December 1963.

In December 1963, the Commission of the European Communities presents to the Council of Ministers the reasons for its proposals on the establishment of a common price level for cereals during the 1964 and 1965 marketing years.

‘Plough together? Willingly.’ In December 1963, the cartoonist Behrendt portrays the difficult negotiations between France and the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) on the establishment of a common agricultural policy (CAP).

On 4 June 1964, Walter Hallstein, President of the Commission of the European Economic Community, sends a letter to the Foreign Ministers of the Six in which he expresses his concerns about the decision of the Council of Agriculture Ministers to hold over the decisions on cereals prices to 15 December 1964.

On 15 December 1964, the Council of Ministers of the European Economic Community (EEC) briefs the press about the decisions adopted relating to prices, compensation, and the various ways in which the European cereals market will be funded.

In the February 1965 edition of Bulletin of the European Economic Community, the Commission of the European Economic Community (EEC) presents the outcome of the Agriculture Conference of 15 December 1964 and its implications for the establishment of a common agricultural market.

In February 1965, Sicco Mansholt, Vice-President of the European Commission, reviews the decisions adopted by the Council of Ministers on 15 December 1964.

On 16 December 1964, the French daily newspaper LeMonde describes the main measures set out in the agreement reached by the Six with regard to the unification of cereals prices with effect from 1 July 1967.

On 16 December 1964, the French daily newspaper Le Monde describes the negotiations held the previous day in Brussels which led to the adoption of the Mansholt Plan by the six Member States of the European Economic Community (EEC).

‘And when he begins to walk, he’ll be under our feet all the time!’ On 15 December 1964, the third ‘agricultural marathon’ concludes with the decision to open the common market for some agricultural products on 1 July 1967. For French cartoonist Jacques Faizant, French President Charles de Gaulle is not enthusiastic about the agreement presented by his Agriculture Minister, Edgar Pisani.

In this interview, Charles Rutten, former Permanent Representative of the Netherlands to the European Communities, recalls how, and for what purpose, agricultural marathons gradually developed as a negotiating method in the Council.

On 26 March 1963, in a note to Jean-Maxime Lévêque at the Secretariat General of the French President, General de Gaulle sets out his opposition to any increase in the price of milk.

In a note sent on 6 April 1963 to Prime Minister Georges Pompidou and to Jean-Maxime Lévêque at the Secretariat General of the French President, General de Gaulle declares his opposition to any increase in agricultural prices.

‘Europeans, protect your greenery!’ On 15 June 1963, German cartoonist Brockmann takes an ironic look at the establishment of a common agricultural policy (CAP).

‘The tricky act of the Minister of Agriculture from Bonn.’ On 25 July 1963, on the margins of the difficult negotiations on the development of a common market for wheat, the German cartoonist, Herbert Kolfhaus, illustrates the efforts of Werner Schwarz, German Minister for Agriculture, to convince German farmers to accept the measures imposed by the common agricultural policy (CAP).

On 1 April 1964, the German weekly publication Der Spiegel focuses on the issue of the price of German wheat and on the FRG’s European policy in this area.

On 3 July 1964, during an interview in Bonn, the German Chancellor Ludwig Erhard and the French President, Charles de Gaulle, emphasise the importance of introducing a common agricultural policy for Europe.

On 6 November 1964, the French daily newspaper Le Monde comments on the entry into force, on 1 November, of the European Regulations relating to the markets in beef and veal and dairy products, focusing on the fixing of agricultural prices at national and Community level.

On 29 March 1965, in an article published in La Gazette de Liège, Eugène Charpentier, Belgian Christian Socialist MP, calls for a European policy on the price of milk for the benefit of farmers and milk producers.

On 25 February 1966, commenting on the progressive implementation of a common market in agricultural products, the Italian daily newspaper Corriere della Sera reviews the state of agriculture in Italy.

On 1 July 1967, the Luxembourg daily newspaper Luxemburger Wort describes the entry into force of the European common market in cereals, pigmeat, poultrymeat and oilseeds and analyses the new implications of the common agricultural policy (CAP).

On 1 July 1967, the German daily newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung comments on the entry into force of the single market in cereals, pigmeat, eggs, poultrymeat and oilseeds and analyses the repercussions of the European agricultural policy for the consumer.

In this interview, Georges Rencki, Head of Division responsible for relations with professional organisations in the Directorate-General for Agriculture (1959–1968), discusses the follow-up to the Stresa Conference and the first measures taken for the introduction of the common agricultural policy.

In this interview, Georges Rencki, Head of Division responsible for relations with professional organisations in the Directorate-General for Agriculture (1959–1968), explains the Commission’s action in professional agricultural circles to promote the measures taken for the introduction of the CAP.

In this interview, Helmut von Verschuer, former member of the Private Office of European Commissioner Sicco Mansholt, explains the attitude of the United States towards the establishment of a common agricultural policy, and describes his visit to the United States in 1962 with the President of the Commission, Walter Hallstein.