The CAP reform and the enlargement process are projected to have major implications for the activity of the research community in Europe in the field of quantitative and modelling analysis. The main analytical challenges to be addressed will concern primarily the impact of decoupling with the need for a better representation of factor markets and agricultural household behaviour, the representation of our trade policy, the consequences of the recent and future enlargement and the improvement in the coverage of the EU rural development policy. Quantitative tools will increasingly need to be also policy-relevant, theoretically – and empirically – sound, validated and timely to contribute to the policy process.