ABSTRACT
With the 2003 Reform, the way support is granted to farmers has changed radically. The vast majority of payments have been decoupled from the volume of production, and made conditional to the respect of environmental, food safety and animal welfare standards (cross-compliance). Some degree of coupling has been allowed to Member States (MS) in order to avoid abandonment of production, under well defined conditions and within clear limits. Other important elements of the reform include the strengthening of the rural development policy with more EU money and new measures, the introduction of a mechanism of financial discipline, and the revision of market policies in the dairy, arable crop, rice, and other small sectors.
