EU farm payments likely to be capped under reform

The European Commission has strongly hinted that new funding criteria under a reformed EU common agricultural policy are likely to introduce a de facto capping on the size of handouts given to the bloc's farmers.

Speaking at the end of a two day conference on CAP reform (19-20 July), EU agriculture commissioner Dacian Ciolos noted that the post-2013 policy would place greater emphasis on the provision of public goods such as preserving the environment.

"There are some limits to ...