A leaked document from the European Commission has revealed its proposals for reforming the common agricultural policy, which were due to be announced in the autumn. The leaked document suggests reducing the amount paid to large farms; under the leaked proposals, individual farmers receiving above €150,000 (£132,000) in payments whould lose 20 per cent of that support, with the amount increasing proportionally for those receiving larger sums. The EC proposes an absolute limit of €300,000.

The proposals, which detail reforms for the first pillar of CAP and were due to be presented to the EU agriculture committee in October by Dacian Ciolos, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, state employee's wages could be deducted from those capped payments and require farmers to devote five per cent of their land to ecological purposes. 30 per cent of payments would be conditional on farmers complying with environmental measures, including maintaining permanent grassland and diversifying crops.

UK MPs and farming leaders have expressed concern over the revelations, principally because UK farms are larger than those in many other EU states and would therefore be affected by such a shift in policy. George Lyon MEP described proposals to reduce payments above €150,000 as "deeply worrying."

Mr Lyon issued a strongly worded statement regarding the EC proposals, "Punishing those who are the most efficient and competitive will take European agriculture down the wrong road and we must ensure the commission are defeated on this issue."

He also criticised plans which would see the introduction of a flat rate of payment being rolled out across the EU by 2028, saying the quality of land being farmed should have an impact on payments received. Farmers in Scotland are particularly worried by this aspect of the leaks. NFU Scotland concurred with Mr Lyon, saying the prospective changes "would not deliver."

The Commission’s document addresses plans to split up larger farms to avoid its proposed measures. The document said that, if discovered, farmers will have their subsidies withheld. Under the proposals, the very smallest holdings will also lose out. The EC recommends cutting payments to holdings smaller than 1 hectare, or which receive under €100, to alleviate the administrative burden.

There are also moves being made to ensure only 'active farmers' benefit from CAP payments, after revelations that many individuals were benefitting from payments who were not actively farming, although, as yet, there is no concrete definition of this term.