Hot on the heals of the previous post entitled CAP Explained, comes this post on the CAP “Health Check”, announced on the 20th of November 2008. According to the European Commission, the Health Check comprises of a series of measures that seek to “modernise, simplify and streamline the CAP and remove restrictions on farmers, thus helping them to respond better to signals from the market and to face new challenges”.

“I’m pleased we managed to find a compromise which preserves all the principles of our original proposal,” said Mariann Fischer Boel, Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development. “The Health Check is all about equipping our farmers for the challenges they face in the upcoming years, such as climate change, and freeing them to follow market signals. Transferring more money into Rural Development gives us the chance to find tailor-made solutions to specific regional problems. The changes agreed represent a major step forward for the CAP.”

The range of measures agreed by EU agriculture ministers on the Health Check of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) include:

• Phasing out milk quotas
• Decoupling of support
• Assistance to sectors with special problems (so-called ‘Article 68′ measures)
• Extending the Single Area Payment Scheme
• Additional funding for EU-12 farmers
• Using currently unspent money
• Shifting money from direct aid to Rural Development
• Investment aid for young farmers
• Abolition of set-aside

You can read more about the Health Check on the European Commission’s Agriculture & Rural Development web site.