Agricultural productivity in the European Union convergence or divergence among members?

Sound increases in agricultural productivity and incomes have been from the very begining two of the main goals of the Common Agricultural Policy of the European Economic Community (now European Union - EU). The paper tries to evaluate, through the estimation of convergence coefficients, if the increments achieved have widened or closed the gap between EU member states. Results indicate that the richest countries either maintain their positive differences to the Union's average (Netherlands and Belgium) or even enlarge it (Denmark). France shows a quick convergence pattern, while countries where Mediterranean production exceeds 30 % of Total Agricultural Output either keep their negative gap (Italy), or even enlarge it (Greece) or slowly converge to the average (Spain). Portugal does converge but still has a long way to reach its European partners. For the remaining countries no significant convergence coefficients were found.