In its Communication ‘Towards a better targeting of the aid to farmers in areas with natural handicaps’, the Commission reported that an expert panel had identified eight soil and climate criteria that could be used to identify land with severe limitations for agricultural production.

The Commission stated, however, that in order to fully understand the precise impact of the application of the biophysical criteria, the cooperation of the Member States was required, in the form of simulations based on sufficiently detailed soil and climate data, in order to produce maps of the areas that would be eligible for Less Favoured Area payments under such simulations.

Apparently, only a few Member States have drawn detailed maps of their areas with natural handicaps; the others have not done so.

Could the Council inform Parliament which Member States have already sent their maps and which ones are reluctant to do so? What reasons are given by the Member States reluctant to provide information on areas with natural handicaps? What steps can the Council take in order to obtain this information?