Glossary

Agenda 2000  Agenda 2000, published in 1997, was a blueprint for the future of European Policy after enlargement

Agri-environment  Schemes to improve the environment in an agricultural context

Brussels ceiling  Agreed in 2002, the Brussels ceiling refers to fixed annual limits for Pillar 1 spending up to 2013, prior to the Financial Perspective negotiations on the rest of the EU budget

CAP  Common Agricultural Policy - the EU system of support for European agriculture

Convergence regions  Poorest areas of the EU where development is being encouraged

Cross-compliance  Making subsidy payments conditional on compliance with environmental and other non-production requirements (see Appendix 3 for full list of requirements)

Degression  Percentage reduction in subsidy payments

Doha Development Round  WTO trade liberalisation negotiations initiated at the Fourth WTO Ministerial Conference in Doha in November 2001

Financial discipline mechanism  Reduces the single farm payment by the percentage necessary to keep total Pillar 1 expenditure below the agreed Brussels ceiling

Financial Perspective  Document produced by the European Commission setting out a basis for negotiating the EU Budget

GDP  Gross Domestic Product

GNI    Gross National Income

LEADER  Community initiative promoting rural development through small scale projects in lagging regions (see Box 8 for greater detail)

Mid-term review  Review of the CAP, so called because it is mid-way through a budgetary period

Modulation  The transfer of funds from direct subsidy payments to rural development expenditure (see Box 3 for greater detail)

Objective 1 status  Poorest areas of the EU with lower than 75% EU average GDP

Pillar 1  Production subsidies and direct market support measures within CAP

Pillar 2  Support for rural development, environmental protection and structural measures within the CAP.

SAPARD  Special Accession Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development providing assistance to future Member States

Single farm payment    Payment to farmers from the Pillar 1 budget

World Trade Organization  International organisation which exists to promote and regulate the free flow of trade