Department of History and Civilization Denmark, the Netherlands and European Agricultural Integration, 1945-1960 Anders Thornvig Sørensen Thesis submitted for assessment with a view to obtaining the degree of Doctor of History and Civilization of the European University Institute Florence, September 2008 EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE Department of History and Civilization Denmark, the Netherlands and European Agricultural Integration, 1945-1960 Anders Thornvig Sørensen Examining Board: Prof. Giovanni Federico (European University Institute) - supervisor Prof. Kiran K. Patel (European University Institute) Prof. Richard Griffiths (Rijksuniversiteit te Leiden) Prof. Johnny Laursen (Aarhus Universitet) © 2008, Anders Thornvig Sørensen No part of this thesis may be copied, reproduced or transmitted without prior permission of the author Sørensen, Anders Thornvig (2008), Denmark, the Netherlands and European Agricultural Integration, 1945-1960 European University Institute 10.2870/18842 Preface I would like to express my gratitude to all the people, secretaries, archives, libraries and agricultural organisations who have assisted me with this study. Especially I thank my family and my successive supervisors, Professor Alan S. Milward and Professor Giovanni Federico. Further thanks go to Professor Johnny Laursen and my former supervisor at the University of Aarhus, Professor Thorsten Borring Olesen. Archivists and secretaries with responsibility for the various archives consulted in this study have read the manuscript in order to secure the respect of privacy, and I am much obliged to them. On behalf of the Dutch Land- en Tuinbouworganisatie (LTO), Maarten L. de Heer not only screened the manuscript for privacy violation, but he also commented extensively on the subject-matter. In the same way, on behalf of the Danish Agricultural Council, Erik Hovgaard Jakobsen screened the manuscript for privacy violation and offered his comments to the subject- matter. I have added their comments to the thesis in a special appendix that is placed between the conclusions and the references to archives and literature. Their comments are not part of the thesis proper, but they will be interesting reading for historians. In addition, Erik Hovgaard Jakobsen has been very helpful and encouraging in establishing contacts with agricultural organisations in Denmark and internationally. I am also grateful to Evert Jan Krajenbrink, Jens Runge Poulsen, Ann- Christina Lauring Knudsen, Morten Rasmussen, Karen Gram-Skjoldager, Lise Hedegaard Rasmussen, and to fellow students, friends, and the staff at the Department of History and Civilisation at the European University Institute. “Denmark, the Netherlands and European Agricultural Integration, 1945-1960” would not have been possible without their support. In all the places I went to in Denmark and the Netherlands to collect sources people have been most friendly and helpful to me. The study is written in memory of my brother Niels Thornvig Sørensen, 1961-1983. Anders Thornvig Sørensen 1 Sørensen, Anders Thornvig (2008), Denmark, the Netherlands and European Agricultural Integration, 1945-1960 European University Institute 10.2870/18842 Denmark, the Netherlands and European Agricultural Integration, 1945-1960 Contents Contents … p. 2 List of tables … p. 5 Abbreviations ... p. 6 1. Introduction…..p. 9 1.1. Definition of subject, p. 9 1.2. Aspects of agricultural policy compared, p. 12 1.3. Case selection, p. 14 1.4. Plan of study, p. 14 1.5. Argument, p. 15 2. Bibliographical survey and working thesis…..p. 20 2.1. Works in political science and history on European integration, p. 20 2.1.1. Neofunctionalism, p. 21 2.1.2. Liberal intergovernmentalism, p. 26 2.1.3. The “rescue” thesis, p. 27 2.1.4. The transnational party network approach, p. 28 2.1.5. Comparison, p. 30 2.2. Agriculture in European integration, p. 32 2.2.1. Lindberg’s and Moravcsik’s interpretations of the CAP, p. 32 2.2.2. Milward’s interpretation of the CAP, p. 34 2.2.3. Kaiser’s interpretation of the CAP, p. 35 2.2.4. Other works on the Green Pool and the origins of the CAP, p. 36 2.2.5. Works on the origins of the CAP: Comparison, p. 48 2.3. Works in political science and history on agricultural politics, p. 54 2.3.1. Pluralism and corporatism, p. 54 2.3.2. “The logic of collective action”, p. 56 2.3.3. “The corporatist imperative”, p. 58 2.3.4. Market intervention and the political-institutional framework, p. 61 2.3.5. Working questions, p. 63 2.3.6. Works on agricultural politics in France, Germany and the EEC, p. 64 2.3.7. Works on Dutch agricultural politics, p. 79 2.3.8. Works on Danish agricultural politics, p. 90 2.3.9. Works on Dutch and Danish agricultural politics: Summary, p. 100 2.4. Working thesis: Assumptions, p. 103 2.4.1. Dutch agriculture and European integration: Assumptions, p. 104 2.4.2. Danish agriculture and European integration: Assumptions, p. 105 2.4.3. Comparison with agriculture in France, Germany, Italy and Belgium, p. 106 2 Sørensen, Anders Thornvig (2008), Denmark, the Netherlands and European Agricultural Integration, 1945-1960 European University Institute 10.2870/18842 2.5. Methods in comparative history, p. 107 2.5.1. Macro-causal analysis, p. 107 2.5.2. Process-tracing and typological theory, p. 110 2.5.3. Event-structure analysis, p. 111 2.5.4. Source material, p. 112 2.5.5. Choices and selections in this study, p. 112 3. Background.....p. 115 3.1. International context, 1945-1960, p. 115 3.2. Agricultural integration, 1945-1960: Content, p. 117 3.2.1. The World Food Board (1946), p. 118 3.2.2. The Green Pool (1950-1955), p. 119 3.2.3. Agriculture in the EEC Treaty (1955-1957), p. 120 3.2.4. Agriculture in the Free Trade Area (1956-1959), p. 126 3.2.5. The draft CAP proposal (1959), p. 127 3.2.6. EEC institutions, p. 128 3.2.7. Agricultural integration, 1945-1960: Summary, p. 130 3.4. Dutch and Danish agricultural policies 1945-1960, p. 131 3.4.1. External context: Foreign policy in general, p. 131 3.4.2. Society and economy in the Netherlands, p. 135 3.4.3. Society and economy in Denmark, p. 143 3.4.4. Agricultural production in Denmark and the Netherlands, p. 149 3.4.5. Agricultural exports and imports in Denmark and the Netherlands, p. 157 3.4.6. Agricultural organisation in the Netherlands, p. 163 3.4.7. Agricultural organisation in Denmark, p. 172 3.4.8. Dutch and Danish agricultural organisation compared, p. 186 3.4.9. Dutch agricultural policy objectives, p. 192 3.4.10. Danish agricultural policy objectives, p. 195 3.4.11. Instruments and institutions in Dutch agricultural policy, p. 196 3.4.12. Instruments and institutions in Danish agricultural policy, p. 205 3.4.13. Instruments, institutions: Dutch and Danish policies compared, p. 212 3.5. Agricultural policies in Western Europe, p. 214 3.5.1. Agricultural organisation, p. 214 3.5.2. Agricultural policy objectives, p. 216 3.5.3. Instruments and institutions in agricultural price policy, p. 216 3.5.4. Levels of agricultural protection, p. 222 3.5.5. Agricultural production and trade: Britain, p. 227 3.5.6. Agricultural production and trade: “EEC-5”, p. 228 3.5.7. Agricultural production and trade: Summary, p. 230 3.6. Working thesis: Assumptions reconsidered, p. 233 3.6.1. Aspects of agricultural policies: Summary of the comparison, p. 233 3.6.2. Economic aspects of a European price policy, p. 237 3.6.3. The international work of agricultural organisations, p. 239 3.6.4. Domestic agricultural policy and the CAP, p. 239 3.6.5. Ideology and organisation politics, p. 241 3.6.6. Foreign policy context, p. 242 3.6.7. Predictions, p. 243 3 Sørensen, Anders Thornvig (2008), Denmark, the Netherlands and European Agricultural Integration, 1945-1960 European University Institute 10.2870/18842 4. Agricultural integration 1945-1960…..p. 245 4.1. The World Food Board (1946), p. 245 4.2. The Green Pool (1950-1955), p. 247 4.2.1. The content of the Mansholt Plan, p. 247 4.2.2. Dutch agriculture’s position: May-November 1950, p. 249 4.2.3. Dutch agriculture’s position: 1951-1953, p. 254 4.2.4. Dutch agriculture and the Green Pool: Main lines, p. 264 4.2.5. Danish agriculture and the supranational Green Pool, p. 265 4.2.6. Danish agriculture and the intergovernmental Green Pool, p. 273 4.2.7. Danish agriculture and the Green Pool: Main lines, p. 276 4.3. Dutch and Danish agriculture and the Green Pool: Comparison, p. 277 4.4. Dutch agriculture and the CAP, 1955-1960, p. 280 4.4.1. Dutch agriculture and the EEC Treaty, 1955-1957, p. 280 4.4.2. Dutch agriculture and the EEC Treaty: Main lines, p. 301 4.4.3. Dutch agriculture and the Free Trade Area, 1956-1959, p. 304 4.4.4. Dutch agriculture and the Free Trade Area: Main lines, p. 312 4.4.5. Dutch agriculture and the CAP proposal: The Stresa conference, p. 313 4.4.6. Dutch agriculture and the CAP proposal: January-November 1959, p. 318 4.4.7. Dutch agriculture and the CAP proposal: EEC acceleration, p. 329 4.4.8. Dutch agriculture and the CAP proposal: Main lines, p. 338 4.5. Dutch agriculture and the CAP, 1955-1960: Summary, p. 339 4.6. Danish agriculture and the CAP, 1956-1959, p. 341 4.6.1. The Landbrugsraad and EEC membership, 1956-1958, p. 343 4.6.2. The Landbrugsraad and EEC membership: Main lines, p. 373 4.6.3. Danish agriculture and the ‘concerted policy’, 1958-1959, p. 375 4.6.4.