Aids to goatkeeping
by European Court of Auditors
Category: Agricultural subsidies

The 2003 cap reform removed the link between the payment of a subsidy and the requirement for a specific production in agriculture and introduced a new EU "decoupled" direct aid support -- the single payment scheme (SPS). As an exception to decoupling, where member states considered that there was a risk of distur℗Ơbance to agricultural markets or abandonment of production as a result of the move to the SPS, they had the option to maintain a proportion of direct aids in some sectors in their existing form. This was notably the case for the suckler cow and/or ewe and goat premiums. This special report presents the results of the audit of these premiums by the Court, which aimed to determine to what extent the suckler cow and ewe and goat direct aids were targeted to the most relevant regions in member states and effective in maintaining production and thus avoiding negative social, economic and environmental effects. -- P. [4] of cover.