Brussels, 28/12/2004 (Agence Europe) - From 1 January 2005, 10 of the 25 Member States will introduce the fundamental reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) agreed in June 2003, namely Italy, Portugal, Germany, Austria, the UK, Ireland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Denmark and Sweden. The reform completely changes the way the EU supports its farm sector. In the future, most subsidies will be paid independently from the volume of production as new "single farm payments" in areas like cereals, meat and dairy farming, closely linked to respect of environmental, food safety and animal welfare standards. Under the June 2003 decision, Member States can introduce the new single farm payment system at any point between 2005 and 2007.
The five other 'old' Member States, namely France, Spain, Greece, Finland, Greece and the Netherlands, will apply the new system in 2006, while the two 'new' Member States which have decided to introduce the new 'decoupled' aid scheme (severing the link between subsidies and production), Malta and Slovenia, will do so in 2007. The eight other new Member States will apply the Single Area Payment Scheme (SAPS), meaning that uniform per-hectare entitlements are granted within any one region from regional financial envelopes. These new Member States will apply the SAPS from 2009 at the latest.
Commenting on the entry into force of the reformed CAP, Mariann Fisher Boel, Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development said: “The CAP at the beginning of 2005 is nothing like its popular caricature. The reform will allow Europe's farmers to become true entrepreneurs….The reform … sends out a strong signal to the world, boosting the chances of a successful outcome to world trade talks.”