THE SINGLE PAYMENT SCHEME IN THE IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF THE CAP "HEATH CHECK"

Based on the comprehensive Impact assessment of potential changes to the CAP thataccompanied the HC legal proposals tabled by the Commission on 20th May 2008, this paperfocuses on the impact analysis of options for adjustment of the Single Payment Scheme. It isput in evidence the distributional implications of the current SPS models as well as the linkbetween the payment distribution with structural variables. Open issues that lead to the needof adjusting the system are also presented. The economic impact of alternative options areanalysed based on Eurostat, audit, and microeconomic data. Issues examined include theimpact of options on the distribution of payments, on land values, and on farmers income bysize and specialisation. Results put in evidence the need to allow MS to consider a targetedadjustment towards a flatter rate for payments, which would address the societal concerns ofunequal distribution of payments between farmers.