TITLE IIIU.K.BASIC PAYMENT SCHEME, SINGLE AREA PAYMENT SCHEME AND RELATED PAYMENTS

[F1CHAPTER 3U.K.Payment for agricultural practices beneficial for the climate and the environment

Article 43U.K.General rules

1.Farmers entitled to a payment under the basic payment scheme or the single area payment scheme shall observe, on all their eligible hectares within the meaning of Article 32(2) to (5), the agricultural practices beneficial for the climate and the environment referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article or the equivalent practices referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article.

2.The agricultural practices beneficial for the climate and the environment shall be the following:

(a)crop diversification;

(b)maintaining existing permanent grassland; and

(c)having ecological focus area on the agricultural area.

3.The equivalent practices shall be those which include similar practices that yield an equivalent or higher level of benefit for the climate and the environment compared to one or several of the practices referred to in paragraph 2. Those equivalent practices and the practice or practices referred to in paragraph 2 to which they are equivalent are listed in Annex IX and shall be covered by any of the following:

(a)commitments undertaken in accordance with either Article 39(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005 or Article 28(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013;

(b)national or regional environmental certification schemes, including those for the certification of compliance with national environmental legislation, going beyond the relevant mandatory standards established pursuant to Chapter I of Title VI of Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013, which aim to meet objectives relating to soil and water quality, biodiversity, landscape preservation, and climate change mitigation and adaptation. Those certification schemes may include the practices listed in Annex IX to this Regulation, the practices referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article, or a combination of those practices.

4.The equivalent practices referred to in paragraph 3 shall not be the subject of double funding.

5.[F2Nothing in this Regulation prevents the relevant authority from deciding], including, where appropriate, at regional level, to restrict the choice of the farmers to use the options referred to in points (a) and (b) of paragraph 3.

6.[F3Nothing in this Regulation prevents the relevant authority from deciding], including, where appropriate, at regional level, that farmers shall carry out all of their relevant obligations under paragraph 1 in accordance with national or regional environmental certification schemes referred to in point (b) of paragraph 3.

7.Subject to the decisions of [F4the relevant authority] referred to in paragraphs 5 and 6, a farmer may observe one or more of the practices referred to in point (a) of paragraph 3 only if these fully replace the related practice or practices referred to in paragraph 2. A farmer may use certification schemes referred to in point (b) of paragraph 3 only if these cover the entire obligation referred to in paragraph 1.

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9.Without prejudice to paragraphs 10 and 11 of this Article, to the application F6... of linear reductions in accordance with Article 7 of this Regulation and to the application of Article 63 of Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013, [F7the relevant authority] shall grant the payment referred to in this Chapter to farmers who observe the practices referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article that are relevant for them, and to the extent that those farmers comply with Articles 44, 45 and 46 of this Regulation.

This payment shall take the form of an annual payment per eligible hectare declared in accordance with Article 33(1) F8..., the amount of which shall be calculated annually by dividing the amount resulting from the application of Article 47 by the total number of eligible hectares declared in accordance with Article 33(1) F8... in the [F9constituent nation] or the region concerned.

By way of derogation from the second subparagraph, [F10and provided that the decision to derogate was taken and notified to the Commission prior to 15 December 2014, the relevant authority] may decide to grant the payment referred to in this paragraph as a percentage of the total value of the payment entitlements that the farmer has activated in accordance with Article 33(1) for each relevant year.

For each year and each [F9constituent nation] or region, that percentage shall be calculated by dividing the amount resulting from the application of Article 47 by the total value of all payment entitlements activated in accordance with Article 33(1) in that [F9constituent nation] or region.

10.Farmers whose holdings are fully or partly situated in areas covered by Directives 92/43/EEC, 2000/60/EC, or 2009/147/EC shall be entitled to the payment referred to in this Chapter provided that they observe the practices referred to in this Chapter to the extent that those practices are compatible in the holding concerned with the objectives of those Directives.

11.Farmers complying with the requirements laid down in Article 29(1) of Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 as regards organic farming shall be entitled ipso facto to the payment referred to in this Chapter.

The first subparagraph shall apply only to the units of a holding that are used for organic production in accordance with Article 11 of Regulation (EC) No 834/2007.

12.The [F11appropriate authority may make regulations]:

(a)adding equivalent practices to the list set out in Annex IX;

(b)establishing appropriate requirements applicable to the national or regional certification schemes referred to in point (b) of paragraph 3 of this Article, including the level of assurance to be provided by those schemes;

(c)establishing detailed rules for the calculation of the amount referred to in Article 28(6) of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 for the practices referred to in points 3 and 4 of Section I and point 7 of Section III of Annex IX to this Regulation, and any further equivalent practices added to that Annex pursuant to point (a) of this paragraph for which a specific calculation is needed in order to avoid double funding.

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Textual Amendments

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

Textual Amendments