1. Three principles are at the basis of the CAP. First, there exists a single market for all agricultural products in the E.U., meaning that products are traded freely between Member States and that custom duties only exist for food imported into the E.U.. Community preference, the second principle, refers to the price advantage given to E.U. produce over third country imports. Financial solidarity is the third principle. It means that member states are jointly responsible for financing the CAP. A fourth working principle was added in 1979. It is that of co-responsibility whereby, in certain sectors, farmers have to contribute to expenses caused by serious over-production.
Various changes were introduced in the following years to deal with the growing volumes of surplus produce. These included: in 1979, the co-responsibility levy referredmentioned earlier and the, in 1984, "milk quotas", to control the volume of production, in 1984. During the particularly harsh winters of 1986-87, the programmes for food distributions to the needy of the Community were established.
2. During the period from 16 September 1977 to the end of the 1979/80 milk year a co-responsibility levy shall be due from all milk producers on milk supplied to an undertaking treating or processing milk and , in the cases defined in article 3 (2 ) , on milk sold by the producer in the form of other milk products.
