Is cross compliance an effective policy?

Under the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), which entered into force in 2005, the single payments due to each beneficiary may be reduced if rules in the areas of environment, food safety, animal and plant health and animal welfare have not been respected, or if the requirement to maintain all agricultural land in good agricultural and environmental condition has not been fulfilled.

In 2008 the European Court of Auditors carried out an audit of the cross compliance policy at the Commission and in seven Member States representing the diversity of agriculture across Europe.

In this report, the Court concludes that the objectives of the policy have not been defined in a specific, measurable, relevant, and realistic way. As a result, at farm level many obligations are still only for form's sake and therefore have little chance of leading to the expected changes or improvements.

Overall, the Court considers that cross compliance is a vital element of the CAP but concludes that it is not effective as currently managed and implemented.

The court recommends that the applicable rules should be simplified, clarified and prioritised.