Europe's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has been reformed substantially in the past decade. The 2003 reform, which decoupled farm payments from production, created a new Rural Development Fund and introduced budgetary disciplines and a new financial mechanism, set the parameters for subsequent reforms. The CAP 'Health Check', agreed on 20 November 2008, continues this reform process for the period 2009-2012 but does not alter the EU’s trade policy regime for agricultural products. This paper outlines the background to the Health Check, what has been agreed, and how it will affect developing countries.