The position is that since CAP reform arrangements were introduced in 1992, restrictions are in place in a number of EU funded schemes which limit the size of the claim or restrict eligibility to certain categories of farmer. These limits and restrictions arise from policy decisions within the framework of reform of the Common Agricultural Policy.
Article 2.2 of Commission Regulation 3887/92 provides that:
Member States shall take the measures necessary to avoid that the conversion of existing holdings or the creation of new holdings after 30 June 1992 to the patently improper avoidance of the provisions relating to individual limits on eligibility for premium or land setaside requirements, imposed under the schemes indicated in Article 1 of Regulation (EEC) No. 3887/92.