This chapter examines one of the first European policies-the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). It does so by focusing on the policy's objectives, instruments, and actors. It looks at the way in which the CAP has evolved since the 1960s, and attempts to explain this evolution by asking and answering a number of important questions: why has the CAP been so problematic for European policy makers? why has it proven so resistant to change? and given the constraints identified, how has reform come about? This chapter answers these questions by focusing on the importance of the international context. It also looks at some of the challenges facing agricultural policy as the EU enlarges to include Central and Eastern European states.