<TI>Special Report No 1 // 2016</TI><STI>Is the Commission’s system for performance measurement in relation to farmers’ incomes well designed and based on sound data? (pursuant to Article 287(4), second subparagraph, TFEU)</STI>

European Court of Auditors<TI>Special Report No 1 // 2016</TI><STI>Is the Commission’s system for performance measurement in relation to farmers’ incomes well designed and based on sound data? (pursuant to Article 287(4), second subparagraph, TFEU)</STI>QJAB16001ENC978928724055218310834

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Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2016

doi:10.2865/72393

Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.

The diagram on p. 12 is reproduced with the kind permission of the OECD. ©OECD (2003), Farm Household Income: Issues and Policy Responses, OECD Publishing, Paris. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264099678-en

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<TI>Contents</TI>ParagraphABBREVIATIONSGLOSSARYEXECUTIVE SUMMARYI-XINTRODUCTION1-17GENERAL OBJECTIVES OF THE CAP AND OF THE 2013 REFORM IN RELATION TO FARMERS’ INCOMES1-2THE OBJECTIVES OF MEASURES FINANCED BY THE EAGF IN RELATION TO FARMERS’ INCOMES3-5FARMERS’ INCOMES, THE INCOME OF FARM HOUSEHOLDS AND STANDARD OF LIVING6THE COMMISSION’S DATA SOURCES FOR INCOMES IN AGRICULTURE7-11PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT OF CAP MEASURES IN RELATION TO AGRICULTURAL INCOME12-15PREVIOUS COURT AUDITS16-17AUDIT SCOPE AND APPROACH18-24OBSERVATIONS25-87THE COMMISSION HAS NOT YET ESTABLISHED A COMPREHENSIVE SET OF DATA FOR ASSESSING THE PERFORMANCE OF CAP MEASURES IN RELATION TO FARMERS’ INCOMES25-51THE COMMISSION STILL LACKS RELEVANT INFORMATION ON FARMERS’ INCOMES AT EU LEVEL26-32THE EAAS ARE AN IMPORTANT TOOL FOR MONITORING THE ECONOMIC SITUATION OF AGRICULTURE BUT THEY HAVE INHERENT LIMITATIONS FOR ASSESSING CAP MEASURES33-39THE FADN IS A WELL-ESTABLISHED SOURCE OF INCOME AND BUSINESS INFORMATION ON COMMERCIAL AGRICULTURAL HOLDINGS BUT IT HAS LIMITATIONS40-5152-76The Commission and Member States did not always ensure that available data on farmers’ incomes were of an appropriate qualityTHERE WERE WEAKNESSES IN THE COMMISSION’S MANAGEMENT OF THE EAAS …54-58… AND IN SOME MEMBER STATES THERE WERE WEAKNESSES IN THE OPERATION OF THE FADN59-76LIMITATIONS IN AVAILABLE DATA, VAGUE OBJECTIVES OF CERTAIN CAP MEASURES AND WEAKNESSES IN PERFORMANCE INDICATORS IMPACT THE COMMISSION’S ABILITY TO DEMONSTRATE WHAT HAS BEEN ACHIEVED77-87DIRECT PAYMENTS SERVE A MULTITUDE OF OBJECTIVES WHOSE ACHIEVEMENT IS DIFFICULT TO MEASURE …79-82… AND CAP PERFORMANCE INDICATORS RELATED TO FARMERS’ INCOMES CANNOT BE CLEARLY LINKED TO MEASURES AND ACTUAL ACHIEVEMENT OF THE OBJECTIVES83-87CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS88-100ANNEX I —MEMBER STATE CHOICES FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF EU DIRECT PAYMENTSANNEX II —CALCULATION OF AGRICULTURAL INCOME AS DEFINED UNDER THE EAASANNEX III —CALCULATION OF INCOME IN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE FADNANNEX IV —COMMISSION PERFORMANCE INDICATORS FOR ASSESSING THE CAPANNEX V —QUALITY CRITERIA APPLYING TO EUROPEAN STATISTICSREPLY OF THE COMMISSION