14/04/2011

Defra has announced in a press release that the UK has been unable to support yesterday’s EU Commission proposal putting in place interim arrangements on how much information can be published about recipients of CAP payments, and has abstained in the vote. The Defra release said the proposal "fails to re-introduce the previous levels of transparency, which were severely curtailed by a recent ECJ ruling.

Defra expanded on their stance, stating, "The UK Government is committed to full transparency in the use of public funds, which includes transparency about everyone who has received payments under the CAP. We urge the Commission to bring forward comprehensive proposals as soon as possible to achieve this. We are currently exploring how we can fulfil the obligations to the ECJ ruling while allowing as much access to information as possible.

"A November 2010 ECJ judgement prevented publication of CAP payments to “natural persons” (individuals) but allowed the continued publication of CAP payments to legal persons (companies and partnerships). As Defra was unable to immediately distinguish between the two categories, access to the data was suspended."