Common agricultural policy : is the specific support provided under Article 68 of Council Regulation (EC) No 73/2009 well designed and implemented?; Special Report No 10, 2013

As a derogation to the general principles of decoupling and simplifying the payment regime for farmers, Article 68 allows Member States to retain part of their national ceilings to provide specific support to certain activities, notably through direct coupled payments, in clearly defined cases. In this report, the Court notes that the Commission has little control over the justification for such cases and that Member States have a large degree of discretion. There is insufficient evidence that the measures introduced under Article 68 are necessary or relevant in terms of needs, effectiveness of their design and the levels of available aid. The Court also pointed out weaknesses in the administrative and control systems, sometimes despite management and control burdens already heavy.