This report is about the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries' administration of the EU's agricultural subsidies under the so-called Single Payment Scheme which took effect after the EU CAP reform in 2005. The subsidies are now dependent on farm size, and to qualify for full payment, applicants must comply with slightly more than 100 cross-compliance requirements relating to, for instance the environment and animal welfare. The information on farm size, which is submitted by the applicants, is subjected to control. Furthermore, applicants' compliance with the cross-compliance requirements is subjected to a partially risk-based control. The latter control is conducted by a number of authorities, including Denmark's 98 municipalities. The Danish Food Industry Agency supervises the control and is responsible for making the payment of subsidies to farmers and fishermen.
The objective of the study has been to determine whether the Danish Food Industry Agency's administration of subsidy applications is qualified and speedy, whether the Danish Food Industry Agency's has organized the control of compliance with the cross-compliance requirements in a satisfactory manner, and whether the Danish Food Industry Agency has ensured that the control of cross-compliance is conducted in a satisfactory manner.