Farmsubsidy.org is a project coordinated by the Danish International Center for Analytical Reporting (DICAR) and EU Transparency, a non-profit organisation in the UK. Formed in 2005, it is working to obtain detailed data relating to payments and recipients of farm subsidies in every EU member state and make this data available in a way that is useful to European citizens.
Subsidies paid to farmers and others under the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy amount to over 40 billion a year, - more than 40% of European Union's entire annual budget, or around €100 a year for each EU citizen.
By publicizing data on subsidies on its website, Farmsubsidy.org aims to help European citizens become better informed and contribute to a constructive public discourse about farm subsidies in the EU. To undertake its work, the project has brought together a diverse group of journalists, analysts and campaigners who share a belief in increasing the transparency of the Common Agricultural Policy. While those involved in the project may hold their own opinions about the Common Agricultural Policy, farmsubsidy.org has no common position other than the need for greater transparency.
The network has successfully pushed governments to reveal the recipients of farm subsidies in Denmark, Latvia, The Netherlands, Slovakia, Slovenia and Sweden. But the struggle continues; some European governments have so far refused to release information on subsidy recipients, or have provided incomplete data.
