Implementation of Single Area Payment Scheme in the EU New Member States 1

The potential impact of the 2003 CAP reform on the EU New Member States (NMS) depends on a range of factors, including the modalities of its implementation and the structure of the farming sectors in different countries. The EU acceding countries were given the choice of implementing the standard EU single payment scheme (SPS) or the simplified single area payment scheme (SAPS). Initially SAPS was supposed to be in force until 2008, but the CAP Health Check extended it until the end of 2013, acknowledging its efficiency (Council Regulation (EC) 73/2009). Those NMS which opted for the standard single farm payment (SFP) ² had to implement a flat rate regional model. At the same time, NMS had to discontinue most of their pre-accession support measures though some of these were allowed to continue for a fixed transitional period (World Bank 2007).