The outcome of the Athens and Brussels summits was a cruel disappointment for all European optimists. The brunt of the consequences of this diplomatic failure will be borne by the Common Agricultural Policy. Is it now time to write its obituary?

In common with international agricultural trade in general the grain trade has remained immune to pressure for liberalization, and equally immune to suggestions of international management in the form of reserve stock holding, price floors and ceilings, or a full scale commodity agreement. What...