Mr. Aidan O'Driscoll:

Political, if I was entirely honest. It is a provision in the regulation. This is also a very sensitive issue in other countries. Some countries do not apply this at all even though they would qualify, but they just decide not to pay it. It is a significant issue in the countries where it is paid. However, they do not have to pay it at all. It is part of the rural development pot of money. Like everything in the rural development area, the more we spend on ANCs, the less we spend on others. Some countries do not apply it at all and others only apply it in very extreme cases.

We ended up with these eight biophysical criteria because the Commission ended up in trouble either with the European Court of Auditors or the European Court of Justice - I cannot remember which - about not having consistency across Europe. Therefore, these eight biophysical criteria now apply across Europe.