Common Agricultural Policy Health Check
Stakeholders in the Scottish farming industry broadly welcomed the CAP ‘Health Check’ deal (the mid-term review of the 2003 CAP reform) agreed by EU Farm Ministers on 20th November 2008, noting increased flexibility to match the measures in the CAP to Scotland's needs and a more level playing field across Europe for Scottish producers.
The latest consolidated text of the CAP Health Check Regulation was released on 9th January 2009 and all 234 pages are available below.
The European Commission published the CAP Health Check consultation document in November 2007 to invite comment on how the CAP is performing, how to simplify the policy and how to make best use of new market opportunities and to prepare for new challenges such as climate change, water-management, biodiversity and bio-energy.
Key Health Check outcomes for Scotland were as follows:
- Freedom to decide how best to proceed with the Beef Calf Scheme, including the option to keep it unchanged for the coming years
- A more level playing field on "modulation", the rule which top-slices farmers' payments and transfers the money into rural development programmes, bringing other countries more closely into line with Scotland
- A fairer deal on decoupling, reducing the distortions created by the 2003 reform
- Avoiding the threat of excessive subsidy cuts for larger holdings through so-called "progressive modulation"
- Avoiding the threat of imposed disruption to the Scotland Rural Development Programme
- Avoiding being obligated to change the basis of Single Farm Payments, from a historic to flat rate payments
- Clarity for the first time that the milk quota system will definitely be abolished.
Most of the provisions will enter into force from 2010. The future of the CAP post-2013 will be discussed during the forthcoming EU budget review and the negotiations on the budget for 2014-2020.
