Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013 of the European Parliament and of the CouncilShow full title

Article 9 Active farmer

1. No direct payments shall be granted to natural or legal persons, or to groups of natural or legal persons, whose agricultural areas are mainly areas naturally kept in a state suitable for grazing or cultivation and who do not carry out on those areas the minimum activity defined by Member States in accordance with point (b) of Article 4(2).

2. No direct payments shall be granted to natural or legal persons, or to groups of natural or legal persons, who operate airports, railway services, waterworks, real estate services, permanent sport and recreational grounds.

Where appropriate, Member States may, on the basis of objective and non-discriminatory criteria, decide to add to the list in the first subparagraph any other similar non-agricultural businesses or activities, and may subsequently decide to withdraw any such additions.

A person or group of persons falling within the scope of the first or second subparagraph shall, however, be regarded as an active farmer if it provides verifiable evidence, in the form that is required by Member States, which demonstrates any of the following:

(a) that the annual amount of direct payments is at least 5 % of the total receipts that it obtained from non-agricultural activities in the most recent fiscal year for which such evidence is available;

(b) that its agricultural activities are not insignificant;

(c) that its principal business or company objects consist of exercising an agricultural activity.

3. In addition to paragraphs 1 and 2, Member States may decide, on the basis of objective and non-discriminatory criteria, that no direct payments are to be granted to natural or legal persons, or to groups of natural or legal persons:

(a) whose agricultural activities form only an insignificant part of their overall economic activities; and/or

(b) whose principal activity or company objects do not consist of exercising an agricultural activity.

4. Paragraphs 2 and 3 shall not apply to farmers who only received direct payments not exceeding a certain amount for the previous year. Such amount shall be decided by Member States on the basis of objective criteria such as their national or regional characteristics, and shall not be higher than EUR 5 000.

5. In order to guarantee the protection of the rights of farmers, the Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 70 laying down:

(a) criteria for determining the cases where a farmer's agricultural area is to be considered to be mainly an area naturally kept in a state suitable for grazing or cultivation;

(b) criteria for establishing the distinction between receipts resulting from agricultural and non-agricultural activities;

(c) criteria for establishing the amounts of direct payments referred to in paragraphs 2 and 4, especially concerning direct payments in the first year of allocation of payment entitlements where the value of the payment entitlements is not yet definitively established, as well as concerning direct payments for new farmers;

(d) criteria that farmers are to meet in order to prove for the purposes of paragraphs 2 and 3 that their agricultural activities are not insignificant and that their principal business or company objects consist of exercising an agricultural activity.

6. Member States shall notify the Commission by 1 August 2014 of any decision referred to in paragraphs 2, 3 or 4 and, in the case of amendments thereto, within two weeks of the date on which any decision to amend was taken.