Following the new rules adopted on the 19th March, by the European Commission all recipients of European Union agricultural and rural development payments will be published in detail.

Each Member State shall publish the information on a website which allows people to search for the beneficiaries by name, municipality, amounts received (and the currency concerned) or a combination of these three criteria and to extract the information as a single set of data. It requires Member States to inform the beneficiaries that their data will be made public and that they enjoy the rights accorded to them by EU data protection rules, thus ensuring that the system complies with the requirements of data protection.

"This is taxpayers' money, so it is very important that people know where it is being spent," said Mariann Fischer Boel, Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development. "Transparency should also improve the management of these funds, by reinforcing public control of how the money is used."

This information will be available from 30 April of the year after the money was paid and remain on the website for two years after the initial date of publication. The publication of data on rural development funds will begin slightly earlier than data for direct farm payments. For all rural development funds spent between 1 January and 15 October 2007, the information will be published by 30 September 2008. Some Member States have starting publishing the aids even before it will be compulsory.

The United Kingdom is providing information on beneficiaries of CAP payments under shared management:

• England: From the homepage of the Rural Payment Agency go to "Access to Information", then to  "Cap Payments for EAGGF year 2003 - 2004".
• Wales: From the homepage of the Welsh Assembly Government go successively to "Topics", "Environment and countryside", "Countryside policy", "Farming" and "SPS 2005 payments details" [also available in Cymraeg].
• Scotland: From the homepage of the Scottish Executive go to "Agriculture", then to "Grants, Subsidies and Services" and finally to "Agricultural Subsidy Payment Information".
• Northern Ireland: From the homepage of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development go "Grants and Funding", then to "Single Farm Payment and Pre 2005 Subsidy Schemes" and  finally to "Release of CAP Subsidy Information".