1.Member States may grant coupled support to farmers under the conditions laid down in this Chapter (in this Chapter referred to as "coupled support").
2.Coupled support may be granted to the following sectors and productions: cereals, oilseeds, protein crops, grain legumes, flax, hemp, rice, nuts, starch potato, milk and milk products, seeds, sheepmeat and goatmeat, beef and veal, olive oil, silkworms, dried fodder, hops, sugar beet, cane and chicory, fruit and vegetables and short rotation coppice.
3.Coupled support may only be granted to those sectors or to those regions of a Member State where specific types of farming or specific agricultural sectors that are particularly important for economic, social or environmental reasons undergo certain difficulties.
4.By way of derogation from paragraph 3, coupled support may also be granted to farmers who:
(a)on 31 December 2014, have payment entitlements granted in accordance with Section 2 of Chapter 3 of Title III and Article 71m of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 and in accordance with Article 60 and the fourth paragraph of Article 65 of Regulation (EC) No 73/2009; and
(b)have at their disposal no eligible hectares for the activation of payment entitlements under the basic payment scheme as referred to in Chapter 1 of Title III of this Regulation.
5.Coupled support may only be granted to the extent necessary to create an incentive to maintain current levels of production in the sectors or regions concerned.
6.Coupled support shall take the form of an annual payment and shall be granted within defined quantitative limits and be based on fixed areas and yields or on a fixed number of animals.
7.In the case of a legal person, or a group of natural or legal persons, Member States may apply the limits referred to in paragraph 6 at the level of the members of those legal persons or groups where national law provides for the individual members to assume rights and obligations comparable to those of individual farmers who have the status of a head of holding, in particular as regards their economic, social and tax status, provided that they have contributed to strengthening the agricultural structures of the legal persons or groups concerned.
8.Any coupled support granted under this Article shall be consistent with other Union measures and policies.
9.In order to ensure efficient and targeted use of Union funds and to avoid double funding under other similar support instruments, the Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 70 laying down:
(a)the conditions for granting coupled support;
(b)rules on consistency with other Union measures and on the cumulation of support.
1.In order to finance the coupled support, Member States may, by 1 August of the year preceding the first year of implementation of such support, decide to use up to 8 % of their annual national ceiling set out in Annex II.
2.By way of derogation from paragraph 1, Member States may decide to use up to 13 % of the annual national ceiling set out in Annex II, provided that:
(a)until 31 December 2014:
they apply the single area payment scheme laid down in Title V of Regulation (EC) No 73/2009,
they finance measures under Article 111 of that Regulation, or
they are covered by the derogation provided for in Article 69(5) or, in the case of Malta, in Article 69(1) of that Regulation; and/or
(b)they allocate, in total, during at least one year in the period 2010-2014, more than 5 % of their amount available for granting the direct payments provided for in Title III, Title IV, with the exception of Section 6 of Chapter 1 thereof, and Title V of Regulation (EC) No 73/2009 for financing:
the measures laid down in Section 2 of Chapter 2 of Title III of Regulation (EC) No 73/2009,
the support provided for in subpoints (i) to (iv) of point (a) and in points (b) and (e) of Article 68(1) of that Regulation, or
the measures under Chapter 1, with the exception of Section 6 of Title IV of that Regulation.
3.The percentages of the annual national ceiling referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 may be increased by up to two percentage points for those Member States which decide to use at least 2 % of their annual national ceiling set out in Annex II to support the production of protein crops under this Chapter.
4.By way of derogation from paragraphs 1 and 2, Member States allocating, in total, during at least one year in the period 2010-2014, more than 10 % of their amount available for granting the direct payments provided for in Title III, Title IV, with the exception of Section 6 of Chapter 1 thereof, and Title V of Regulation (EC) No 73/2009 for financing:
(a)the measures laid down in Section 2 of Chapter 2 of Title III of Regulation (EC) No 73/2009;
(b)the support provided for in subpoints (i) to (iv) of point (a) and in points (b) and (e) of Article 68(1) of that Regulation; or
(c)the measures under Chapter 1, with the exception of Section 6, of Title IV of that Regulation
may decide to use more than 13 % of the annual national ceiling set out in Annex II to this Regulation, upon approval by the Commission in accordance with Article 55 of this Regulation.
5.By way of derogation from the percentages set out in paragraphs 1 to 4, Member States may choose to use up to EUR 3 million per year for financing coupled support.
6.Member States may, by 1 August 2016, review their decision pursuant to paragraphs 1 to 4 and decide, with effect from 2017:
(a)to leave unchanged, increase or decrease the percentage fixed pursuant to paragraphs 1, 2 and 3, within the limits laid down therein where applicable, or to leave unchanged or decrease the percentage fixed pursuant to paragraph 4;
(b)to modify the conditions for granting the support;
(c)to cease granting the support under this Chapter.
7.On the basis of the decision taken by each Member State pursuant to paragraphs 1 to 6 of this Article, the Commission shall adopt implementing acts fixing the corresponding ceilings for coupled support on a yearly basis. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 71(2).
1.Member States shall notify the Commission of the decisions referred to in Article 53 by the dates referred to in that Article. Except for the decision referred to in point (c) of Article 53(6), the notification shall include information on the regions targeted, the selected types of farming or sectors, and the level of support to be granted.
2.The decisions referred to in Article 53(2) and (4), or, where appropriate, in point (a) of Article 53(6), shall include a detailed description of the particular situation in the region targeted and of the particular characteristics of the types of farming or specific agricultural sectors, which make the percentage referred to in Article 53(1) insufficient to address the difficulties referred to in Article 52(3) and which justify an increased level of support.
1.The Commission shall adopt implementing acts, without applying the procedure referred to in Article 71(2) or (3), approving the decision referred to in Article 53(4), or, where appropriate, in point (a) of Article 53(6), where one of the following needs in the sector or region concerned is demonstrated:
(a)the need to sustain a certain level of specific production due to the lack of alternatives, and to reduce the risk of production abandonment with the resulting social and/or environmental problems;
(b)the need to provide stable supply to the local processing industry, thereby avoiding the negative social and economic consequence of any ensuing restructuring;
(c)the need to compensate disadvantages affecting farmers in a particular sector which are the consequence of continuing disturbances on the related market;
(d)the need to intervene where the existence of any other support available under this Regulation, Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 or any approved State aid scheme is deemed to be insufficient to meet the needs referred to in points (a), (b) and (c) of this paragraph.
2.The Commission shall adopt implementing acts laying down rules on the procedure for the assessment and approval of the decisions referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 71(2).
Aid shall be granted to farmers producing cotton falling within CN code 5201 00 under the conditions laid down in this Chapter ("crop-specific payment for cotton").
1.The crop-specific payment for cotton shall be granted per hectare of eligible area of cotton. The area shall be eligible only if it is located on agricultural land authorised by the Member State for cotton production, sown with varieties authorised by the Member State and actually harvested under normal growing conditions.
The crop-specific payment for cotton shall be paid for cotton of sound, fair and marketable quality.
2.Member States shall authorise the land and the varieties referred to in paragraph 1 in accordance with the rules and conditions to be adopted pursuant to paragraph 3.
3.In order to ensure an efficient management of the crop-specific payment for cotton, the Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 70 concerning rules and conditions for the authorisation of land and varieties for the purposes of the crop-specific payment for cotton.
4.The Commission shall adopt implementing acts laying down rules on the procedure for the authorisation of land and varieties for the purposes of the crop-specific payment for cotton and on the notifications to the producers related to this authorisation. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 71(2).
1.The following national base areas are established:
Bulgaria: 3 342 ha,
Greece: 250 000 ha,
Spain: 48 000 ha,
Portugal: 360 ha.
2.The following fixed yields in the reference period are established:
Bulgaria: 1,2 tonne/ha,
Greece: 3,2 tonne/ha,
Spain: 3,5 tonne/ha,
Portugal: 2,2 tonne/ha.
3.The amount of the crop-specific payment per hectare of eligible area shall be calculated by multiplying the yields established in paragraph 2 with the following reference amounts:
Bulgaria: EUR 584,88 in 2015; and EUR 649,45 for 2016 and onwards,
Greece: EUR 234,18,
Spain: EUR 362,15,
Portugal: EUR 228,00.
4.If the eligible area of cotton in a given Member State and in a given year exceeds the base area established in paragraph 1, the amount referred to in paragraph 3 for that Member State shall be reduced proportionately to the overrun of the base area.
5.In order to make it possible to apply the crop-specific payment for cotton, the Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 70 concerning rules on the conditions for the granting of that payment, on the eligibility requirements and on agronomic practices.
6.The Commission may adopt implementing acts laying down rules on the calculation of the reduction provided for in paragraph 4. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 71(2).
1.For the purpose of this Chapter, an 'approved interbranch organisation' means a legal entity made up of farmers producing cotton and at least one ginner, carrying out activities such as:
(a)helping to better coordinate the way cotton is placed on the market, particularly through research studies and market surveys;
(b)drawing up standard forms of contract compatible with Union rules;
(c)orienting production towards products that are better adapted to market needs and consumer demand, particularly in terms of quality and consumer protection;
(d)updating methods and means to improve product quality;
(e)developing marketing strategies to promote cotton via quality certification schemes.
2.The Member State where the ginners are established shall approve interbranch organisations that satisfy the criteria to be laid down pursuant to paragraph 3.
3.In order to ensure the efficient application of the crop-specific payment for cotton, the Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 70 laying down:
(a)criteria for the approval of interbranch organisations;
(b)obligations for producers;
(c)rules governing the situation where the approved interbranch organisation does not satisfy the criteria referred to in point (a).
1.Farmers shall be granted the crop-specific payment for cotton per eligible hectare as established in Article 58.
2.In the case of farmers who are members of an approved interbranch organisation, the crop-specific payment for cotton per eligible hectare within the base area laid down in Article 58(1) shall be increased by an amount of EUR 2.