you seem to want changes made to the CAP – so do I; in my case get rid of it, let individual countries run their own subsidy schemes. Who would care then, if the German system, or the Greek or the Italian, wasn’t transparent? I’m not letting dislike of a policy cloud my view, I’m simply pointing out that if you set up a gargantuan system spanning numerous countries, it’s less likely to be run efficiently or transparently than if each country runs its own system, which would have the added advantage of allowing democratic oversight.

Personally I think farm subsidies are a good idea, and maintaining a strong agricultural base is important to the general welfare of a nation.

(1) The CAP exists, like it or not, and while it exists the spending should be transparent
(2) Even if there were German national subsidies then those should be transparent too

You shouldn’t let the fact that you dislike the policy cloud your view about some simple everyday changes to it.

The problem is wholly created by the pan-European CAP. If you’re in a restaurant with a whole bunch of people and you know the bill will be split equally, then you might as well order lobster. In other words, the incentive to be prudent and or honest has been removed by your supranational system.

To the extent that voters are given a choice between MEP candidates (and parties) their record and intentions on transparency is an important point, because the European Parliament watches the other institutions and it has (as you correctly poointed out) a lousy record with regard to its own members.