Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on the implementation of the scheme of specific measures for agriculture in favour of the smaller Aegean islands (SAI)

The Greek smaller Aegean islands (SAI) constitute an extremely fragmented insular territory subject to severe geographic and natural constraints, not very populated, with limited utilised agricultural area. The topography and climate of SAI are also limiting factors for agricultural production. Some islands are very isolated from the mainland of Greece and face problems of double or even triple insularity. This affects among others the supply of essential agricultural products owing to additional transport costs linked to the SAI insularity, small size and distance from markets.

Taken into account this specific situation, incomparable with the EU mainland, SAI benefit from special measures for agriculture under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Apart from the support under the first pillar of the CAP, SAI benefit from a specific support scheme (SAI scheme) that helps promote the local production and ensure the supply of essential products. The scheme covers all Aegean islands except Evia and Crete.

This report aims at evaluating the application of the SAI scheme between 2006 and 2014.