‘Scottish clause’ solution sought

The Scottish Minister for Rural Affairs, Richard Lochhead, who was attending the Agriculture and Fisheries Council in Brussesl on 16-18 November 2013, said that European action was urgently needed to solve the problem of farm payments being made on land where no agricultural activity was taking place.

Scotland had secured a clause in the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) aimed at ensuring payments could only made to active farmers. However, the European Commission’s most recent draft interpretation of the ‘Scottish clause’ appeared to rule out linking payments with production.