Regulation (EU) No 1310/2013 of the European Parliament and of the CouncilShow full title

Article 6 U.K. Amendments to Regulation (EC) No 73/2009

Regulation (EC) No 73/2009 is hereby amended as follows:

(1)

In Article 29, the following paragraph is added:

"5. By way of derogation from paragraph 2, Member States may, from 16 October 2014, pay advances to farmers of up to 50 % of the direct payments under the support schemes listed in Annex I in respect of applications made in 2014. In the case of beef and veal payments provided for in Section 11 of Chapter 1 of Title IV, Member States may increase that percentage to up to 80 %.".

(2)

Article 40 is replaced by the following:

"Article 40 National ceilings

1. For each Member State and for each year, the total value of all allocated payment entitlements, of the national reserve referred to in Article 41 and of the ceilings fixed in accordance with Article 51(2), Article 69(3) and Article 72b shall be equal to its national ceiling determined in Annex VIII.

2. Where necessary, a Member State shall make a linear reduction or increase in the value of all payment entitlements, or in the amount of the national reserve referred to in Article 41 or in both in order to ensure compliance with its national ceiling determined in Annex VIII.

Member States that decide not to implement Chapter 5a of Title III of this Regulation and not to use the possibility provided for in Article 136a(1) may decide, for the purpose of obtaining the necessary reduction in the value of payment entitlements referred to in the first subparagraph, not to reduce payment entitlements activated in 2013 by farmers who, in 2013, claimed less than an amount of direct payments to be determined by the Member State concerned; that amount shall not be higher than EUR 5 000.

3. Without prejudice to Article 26 of Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council(1), the amounts of direct payments which may be granted in a Member State in respect of calendar year 2014 under Articles 34, 52, 53, 68 and 72a of this Regulation and for the aid to silkworm rearers under Article 111 of Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 shall not be higher than the ceilings set out in Annex VIII to this Regulation for that year, reduced by the amounts resulting from the application of Article 136b of this Regulation for the calendar year 2014 as set out in Annex VIIIa to this Regulation.

Where necessary, and in order to comply with the ceilings set out in Annex VIII to this Regulation reduced by the amounts resulting from the application of Article 136b of this Regulation for the calendar year 2014 as set out in Annex VIIIa to this Regulation, Member States shall make a linear reduction in the amounts of direct payments in respect of calendar year 2014.

(3)

In Article 41(1), point (b) is replaced by the following:

"(b)

the total value of all allocated payment entitlements and the ceilings fixed in accordance with Article 51(2), Article 69(3) and Article 72b of this Regulation.".

(4)

In Article 51(2), the following subparagraph is added:

"For 2014, the ceilings for the direct payments referred to in Articles 52 and 53 shall be identical to the ceilings determined for 2013, multiplied by a coefficient to be calculated for each Member State concerned by dividing the national ceiling for 2014 set out in Annex VIII by the national ceiling for 2013. This multiplication shall only apply to Member States for which the national ceiling set out in Annex VIII for 2014 is lower than the national ceiling for 2013.".

(5)

In Article 68(8), the introductory phrase is replaced by the following:

"8. By 1 February 2014, those Member States that took the decision referred to in Article 69(1) may review that decision and decide, with effect from 2014, to:".

(6)

Article 69 is amended as follows:

(a)

paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:

"1. Member States may decide, by 1 August 2009, by 1 August 2010, by 1 August 2011, by 1 September 2012, by the date of its accession in the case of Croatia, or by 1 February 2014, to use, from the year following such decision, from the first year of implementation of the single payment scheme in the case of Croatia, or in the case of a decision taken by 1 February 2014, from the year 2014, up to 10 % of their national ceiling referred to in Article 40, or, in the case of Malta, the amount of EUR 2 000 000 for the specific support provided for in Article 68(1).";

(b)

in paragraph 3, the second subparagraph is replaced by the following:

"For the sole purposes of ensuring compliance with the national ceilings as provided for in Article 40(2) and making the calculation referred to in Article 41(1), the amounts used to grant the support referred to in point (c) of Article 68(1) shall be deducted from the national ceiling referred to in Article 40(1). They shall be counted as allocated payment entitlements.";

(c)

in paragraph 4, the percentage "3,5 %" is replaced by "6,5 %";

(d)

in the first sentence of paragraph 5, the year "2013" is replaced by "2014";

(e)

in paragraph 6, the second subparagraph is replaced by the following:

"For the sole purposes of ensuring compliance with the national ceilings provided for in Article 40(2) and making the calculation referred to in Article 41(1), where a Member State makes use of the option provided for in point (a) of the first subparagraph of this paragraph, the amount concerned shall not be counted as part of the ceilings fixed under paragraph 3 of this Article.".

(7)

In Title III, the following Chapter is added:

"Chapter 5aREDISTRIBUTIVE PAYMENT IN 2014

Article 72a General rules

1. Member States may decide, by 1 March 2014, to grant, for 2014, a payment to farmers who are entitled to a payment under the single payment scheme referred to in Chapters 1, 2 and 3 ("the redistributive payment").

Member States shall notify the Commission of their decision by 1 March 2014.

2. Member States which have decided to apply the single payment scheme at regional level in accordance with Article 46 may apply the redistributive payment at regional level.

3. Without prejudice to the application of financial discipline, of linear reductions as referred to in Article 40(3), and to the application of Articles 21 and 23, the redistributive payment shall be granted upon activation of payment entitlements by the farmer.

4. The redistributive payment shall be calculated by Member States by multiplying a figure to be set by the Member State, which shall not be higher than 65 % of the national or regional average payment per hectare, by the number of payment entitlements activated by the farmer in accordance with Article 34. The number of such payment entitlements shall not exceed a maximum to be set by Member States which shall not be higher than 30 hectares or the average size of agricultural holdings set out in Annex VIIIb if that average size exceeds 30 hectares in the Member State concerned.

5. Provided that the maximum limits set out in paragraph 4 are respected, Member States may, at national level, establish a graduation in the number of hectares set in accordance with that paragraph, which shall apply identically to all farmers.

6. The national average payment per hectare referred to in paragraph 4 shall be established by the Member States on the basis of the national ceiling set out in Annex VIIIc and the number of eligible hectares declared in accordance with Article 34(2) in 2014.

The regional average payment per hectare referred to in paragraph 4 shall be established by the Member States by using a share of the national ceiling set out in Annex VIIIc and the number of eligible hectares declared in the region concerned in accordance with Article 34(2) in 2014. For each region, this share shall be calculated by dividing the respective regional ceiling set in accordance with Article 46(3) by the national ceiling set in accordance withArticle 40 for the year 2014.

7. Member States shall ensure that no advantage provided for under this Chapter is granted to farmers in respect of whom it is established that, after 18 October 2011, they divided their holding with the sole purpose of benefiting from the redistributive payment. This shall also apply to farmers whose holdings result from that division.

Article 72b Financial provisions

1. In order to finance the redistributive payment, Member States may decide, by 1 March 2014, to use up to 30 % of the annual national ceiling set in accordance with Article 40 for claim year 2014. They shall notify the Commission of any such decision by that date.

2. On the basis of the percentage of the national ceiling to be used by Member States pursuant to paragraph 1 of this Article, the Commission shall adopt implementing acts fixing the corresponding ceiling for the redistributive payment. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 141b(2).".

(8)

In Article 90, paragraph 3 is replaced by the following:

"3. The amount of the aid per eligible hectare shall be established by multiplying the yields established in paragraph 2 by the following reference amounts:

Bulgaria

:

EUR 520,20

Greece

:

EUR 234,18

Spain

:

EUR 362,15

Portugal

:

EUR 228,00.".

(9)

In Article 122, paragraph 3 is replaced by the following:

"3. The single area payment scheme shall be available until 31 December 2014.".

(10)

In Article 124, paragraphs 1 and 2 are replaced by the following:

"1. The agricultural area of a new Member State under the single area payment scheme shall be that part of its utilised agricultural area which is maintained in good agricultural condition, whether or not in production, and, where appropriate, adjusted in accordance with the objective and non-discriminatory criteria to be set by that new Member State after approval by the Commission.

For the purposes of this Title, 'utilised agricultural area' shall mean the total area taken up by arable land, permanent grassland, permanent crops and kitchen gardens, as established by the Commission for its statistical purposes.

2. For the purpose of granting payments under the single area payment scheme, all agricultural parcels corresponding to the criteria provided for in paragraph 1, as well as agricultural parcels planted with short rotation coppice (CN code ex 0602 90 41), shall be eligible.

Except in the case of force majeure or exceptional circumstances, the parcels referred to in the first subparagraph shall be at the farmer's disposal on the date fixed by the Member State, which shall be no later than the date fixed in that Member State for amendment of the aid application.

The minimum size of eligible area per holding for which payments may be requested shall be 0,3 ha. However, any new Member State may decide, on the basis of objective criteria and after approval by the Commission, to set the minimum size at a higher level provided that it does not exceed 1 ha.".

(11)

In Title V, the following Chapter is inserted:

"Chapter 2aREDISTRIBUTIVE PAYMENT IN 2014

Article 125a General rules

1. The new Member States applying the single area payment scheme may decide, by 1 March 2014, to grant, for 2014, a payment to farmers who are entitled to a payment under the single area payment scheme referred to in Chapter 2 ("the redistributive payment for new Member States").

The new Member States concerned shall notify the Commission of their decision by 1 March 2014.

2. Without prejudice to the application of financial discipline and the application of Articles 21 and 23, the redistributive payment for new Member States shall take the form of an increase in the per hectare amounts granted under the single area payment scheme.

3. The redistributive payment for new Member States shall be calculated by Member States by multiplying a figure to be set by the Member State, which shall not be higher than 65 % of the national average payment per hectare, by the number of eligible hectares in respect of which the farmer is granted amounts under the the single area payment scheme. The number of such hectares shall not exceed a maximum to be set by Member States which shall not be higher than 30 or the average size of agricultural holdings set out in Annex VIIIb if that average size exceeds 30 hectares in the new Member State concerned.

4. Provided that the maximum limits set out in paragraph 3 are respected, Member States may, at national level, establish a graduation in the number of hectares set in accordance with that paragraph, which shall apply identically to all farmers.

5. The national average payment per hectare referred to in paragraph 3 shall be established by the Member States on the basis of the national ceiling set out in Annex VIIIc and the number of eligible hectares declared under the single area payment scheme in 2014.

6. New Member States shall ensure that no advantage provided for under this Chapter is granted to farmers in respect of whom it is established that, after 18 October 2011, they divided their holding with the sole purpose of benefiting from the redistributive payment for new Member States. This shall also apply to farmers whose holdings result from that division.

Article 125b Financial provisions

1. In order to finance the redistributive payment for new Member States, new Member States may decide, by 1 March 2014, to use up to 30 % of the annual national ceiling referred to in Article 40 for claim year 2014, or for Bulgaria and Romania, of the amounts set in Annex VIIId. They shall notify the Commission of any such decision by that date.

The annual financial envelope in Article 123 shall be reduced by the amount referrred to in the first subparagraph.

2. On the basis of the percentage of the national ceiling to be used by the new Member States concerned pursuant to paragraph 1 of this Article, the Commission shall adopt implementing acts fixing the corresponding ceiling for the redistributive payment for new Member States and the corresponding reduction of the annual financial envelope referred to in Article 123. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 141b(2).".

(12)

In Article 131, paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:

"1. The new Member States applying the single area payment scheme may decide, by 1 August 2009, by 1 August 2010, by 1 August 2011, by 1 September 2012 or by 1 February 2014, to use, from the year following that decision, or in the case of a decision taken by 1 February 2014, from the year 2014, up to 10 % of their national ceilings referred to in Article 40 to grant support to farmers as set out in Article 68(1) and in accordance with Chapter 5 of Title III, as applicable to them.".

(13)

The title of Article 133a is replaced by the following:

"Transitional national aid in 2013".

(14)

In Chapter 4 of Title V, the following Article is inserted:

"Article 133b Transitional national aid in 2014

1. The new Member States applying the single area payment scheme in accordance with Article 122 may decide to grant transitional national aid in 2014.

2. Bulgaria and Romania may grant aid under this Article only if they decide, by 1 February 2014, not to grant, in 2014, any complementary national direct payments under Article 132.

3. The aid under this Article may be granted to farmers in sectors in respect of which transitional national aid pursuant to Article 133a or, in the case of Bulgaria and Romania, complementary national direct payments pursuant to Article 132 were granted in 2013.

4. The conditions for granting the aid under this Article shall be identical to those authorised for the granting of payments pursuant to Articles 132 or 133a in respect of 2013, with the exception of the reductions due to the application of Article 132(2) in conjunction with Articles 7 and 10.

5. The total amount of aid that may be granted to farmers in any of the sectors referred to in paragraph 3 shall be limited to 80 % of the sector–specific financial envelopes in respect of 2013 authorised by the Commission in accordance with Article 133a(5) or, in the case of Bulgaria and Romania, in accordance with Article 132(7).

For Cyprus, the sector–specific financial envelopes are set out in Annex XVIIa.

6. Paragraphs 3 and 4 shall not apply to Cyprus.

7. The new Member States shall notify the Commission of the decisions referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 by 31 March 2014. The notification of the decision referred to in paragraph 1 shall include the following information:

(a) the financial envelope for each sector;

(b) the maximum rate of transitional national aid, where appropriate.

8. The new Member States may decide, on the basis of objective criteria and within the limits authorised by the Commission pursuant to paragraph 5, on the amounts of transitional national aid to be granted.".

(15)

In Title VI, the following Article is added:

"Article 136a Flexibility between pillars

1. By 31 December 2013, Member States may decide to make available as additional support for measures under rural development programming financed under the EAFRD as specified under Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council(2), up to 15 % of their annual national ceilings for calendar year 2014 set out in Annex VIII to this Regulation and of their annual national ceilings for calendar years 2015-2019 set out in Annex II to Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council(3). As a result, the corresponding amount shall no longer be available for granting direct payments.

The decision referred to in the first subparagraph shall be notified to the Commission by 31 December 2013. That decision shall set out the percentage referred to in that subparagraph, which may vary by calendar year.

Member States which do not take the decision referred to in the first subparagraph in respect of calendar year 2014 may, by 1 August 2014, take that decision, in respect of calendar years 2015 to 2019. They shall notify the Commission of any such decision by that date.

Member States may decide to review the decision referred to in this paragraph with effect from calendar year 2018. Any decisions based on such review shall not result in a decrease of the percentage notified to the Commission in accordance with the first, second and third subparagraphs. Member States shall notify the Commission of any decision based on such review by 1 August 2017.

2. By 31 December 2013, Member States which do not take the decision referred to in paragraph 1 may decide to make available as direct payments up to 15 % or, in the case of Bulgaria, Estonia, Spain Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom, up to 25 % of the amount allocated to support for measures under rural development programming financed under the EAFRD in the period 2015-2020 as specified in Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013. As a result, the corresponding amount shall no longer be available for support measures under rural development programming.

The decision referred to in the first subparagraph shall be notified to the Commission by 31 December 2013. That decision shall set out the percentage referred to in that subparagraph which may vary by calendar year.

Member States which do not take the decision referred to in the first subparagraph in respect of financial year 2015 may, by 1 August 2014, take that decision in respect of financial years 2016 to 2020. They shall notify the Commission of any such decision by that date.

Member States may decide to review the decision referred to in this paragraph with effect for financial year 2019 and 2020. Any decision based on such review shall not result in an increase of the percentage notified to the Commission in accordance with the first, second and third subparagraphs. Member States shall notify the Commission of any decision based on such review by 1 August 2017.

3. In order to take account of the decisions notified by Member States in accordance with paragraphs 1 and 2, the Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts, in accordance with Article 141a, reviewing the ceilings set out in Annex VIII.

(16)

In Title VI, the following Article is added:

"Article 136b Transfer to EAFRD

Member States that, in accordance with Article 136, decided to make an amount available from the financial year 2011 for Union support under rural development programming and financing under the EAFRD, shall continue to make the amounts of Annex VIIIa available for rural development programming and financing under the EAFRD for financial year 2015.".

(17)

The following Article is inserted:

"Article 140a Delegation of powers

In order to take account of the decisions notified by Member States in accordance with Article 136a(1) and (2), as well as of any other modification of the national ceilings set out in Annex VIII, the Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts, in accordance with Article 141a, adapting the ceilings set out in Annex VIIIc.

In order to ensure an optimal application of the linear reduction provided for under Article 40(3) in 2014, the Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts, in accordance with Article 141a, laying down rules for calculating the reduction to be applied by Member States to farmers pursuant to Article 40(3).".

(18)

Article 141a is replaced by the following:

"Article 141a Exercise of the delegation

1. The power to adopt delegated acts is conferred on the Commission subject to the conditions laid down in this Article.

2. The power to adopt delegated acts referred to in Article 11a, Article 136a(3) and Article 140a shall be conferred on the Commission until 31 December 2014.

3. The delegation of power referred to in Article 11a, Article 136a(3) and Article 140a may be revoked at any time by the European Parliament or by the Council. A decision to revoke shall put an end to the delegation of the power specified in that decision. It shall take effect the day following the publication of the decision in the Official Journal of the European Union or at a later date specified therein. It shall not affect the validity of any delegated acts already in force.

4. As soon as it adopts a delegated act, the Commission shall notify it simultaneously to the European Parliament and to the Council.

5. A delegated act adopted pursuant to Article 11a, Article 136a(3) and Article 140a shall enter into force only if no objection has been expressed either by the European Parliament or the Council within a period of two months of notification of that act to the European Parliament and the Council or if, before the expiry of that period, the European Parliament and the Council have both informed the Commission that they will not object. That period shall be extended by two months at the initiative of the European Parliament or of the Council.".

(19)

Annexes I, VIII and XVIIa are amended and new Annexes VIIIa, VIIIb, VIIIc and VIIId added in accordance with points (1), (4), (5) and (6) of Annex II to this Regulation.

(20)

Annexes II and III are amended in accordance with points (2) and (3) of Annex II to this Regulation.

(1)

Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 on the financing, management and monitoring of the common agricultural policy and repealing Council Regulations (EEC) No 352/78, (EC) No 165/94, (EC) No 2799/98, (EC) No 814/2000, (EC) No 1290/2005 and (EC) No 485/2008 (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 549)."

(2)

Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 on support for rural development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005 (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 487).

(3)

Regulation (EU) No 1307 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 establishing rules for direct payments to farmers under support schemes within the framework of the common agricultural policy and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 637/2008 and Council Regulation (EC) No 73/2009 (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 608)."