Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 808/2014Show full title

(2) Description by measure including: U.K.

(a)

legal basis.

(b)

general description of the measure including its intervention logic and contribution to focus areas and cross-cutting objectives.

(c)

[F1 scope, level of support, eligible beneficiaries, and where relevant, methodology for calculation of the amount or support rate broken down by sub-measure and/or type of operation where necessary. For each type of operation specification of eligible costs, eligibility conditions, applicable amounts and support rates and principles with regard to the setting of selection criteria. Where support is provided to a financial instrument implemented under points (a) and (b) of the first subparagraph of Article 38(4) of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013, description of the type of financial instrument, general categories of final recipients, general categories of eligible costs and maximum level of support.]

(d)

description of the verifiability and controllability of the measures and/or types of operations:

(i)

risk(s) in the implementation of the measures and/or type of operations;

(ii)

mitigating actions;

(iii)

overall assessment of the measure and/or type of operations.’

For the measure under Article 28 of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013, the description shall include a table illustrating the relation between agri-environment-climate commitments and the methods of their verification and control.

(e)

description specific to each measure and/or type of operation as follows:

1. Knowledge transfer and information actions (Article 14 of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013) U.K.

• definition of appropriate capacities of bodies providing knowledge transfer services to carry out their tasks in the form of staff qualifications and regular training;

• definition of the duration and content of farm and forest exchange schemes and visits as referred to in Article 3 of Delegated Regulation (EU) No 807/2014.

2. Advisory services, farm management and farm relief services (Article 15 of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013) U.K.

• general principles to ensure appropriate resources in the form of regularly trained and qualified staff and advisory experience and reliability with respect to the field of advice. Identification of the elements that the advice will cover.

3. Quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs (Article 16 of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013) U.K.

• indication of eligible quality schemes, including farm certification schemes, for agricultural products, cotton or foodstuffs recognized at national level and confirmation that these quality schemes are fulfilling the criteria laid down in Article 16(1)(b) of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013;

• indication of eligible voluntary agricultural product certification schemes recognized by the Member State as meeting the Union best practice guidelines.

4. Investments in physical assets (Article 17 of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013) U.K.

• definition of non productive investments;

• definition of collective investments;

• definition of integrated projects;

• definition and identification of the eligible Natura 2000 sites and other eligible areas of high nature value;

• description of the targeting of the support to farms in accordance with the SWOT carried out in relation to the priority referred to in Article 5(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013;

• list of new requirements imposed by Union legislation for complying with which support may be granted under Article 17(6) of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013;

• where relevant, the minimum standards for energy efficiency referred to in Article 13(c) of Delegated Regulation (EU) No 807/2014;

• where relevant, definition of the thresholds referred to in Article 13(e) of Delegated Regulation (EU) No 807/2014.

[F1 5. Farm and business development (Article 19 of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013) U.K.

• definition of small farm referred to in Article 19(1)(a)(iii) of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013;

• definition of the actions referred to in point (s) of Article 2(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 ( ‘ date of setting up ’ );

• definition of upper and lower thresholds as referred to in the fifth subparagraph of Article 19(4) of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013;

• specific conditions for support for young farmers where they are not setting up as a sole head of the holding in accordance with Article 2(1) and (2) of Delegated Regulation (EU) No 807/2014;

• information on the application of the grace period referred to in Article 2(3) of Delegated Regulation (EU) No 807/2014;

• summary of the requirements of the business plan;

• use of the possibility to combine different measures through the business plan giving access of the young farmer to those measures;

• domains of diversification covered.]

6. Basic services and village reveal in rural areas (Article 20 of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013) U.K.

• Definition of small scale infrastructure, including small scale tourism infrastructure as referred to in Article 20(1)(e) of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013;

• if applicable, specific derogation allowing to support bigger scale infrustructure for investments in broad band and renewable energy;

• the minimum standards for energy efficiency referred to in Article 13(c) of Delegated Regulation (EU) No 807/2014;

• definition of the thresholds referred to in Article 13(e) of Delegated Regulation (EU) No 807/2014.

7. Investments in forest area development and improvement of the viability of forests (Article 21 of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013) U.K.

• definition and justification of the holding size above which support will be conditional on the submission of a forest management plan or equivalent instrument in line with sustainable forest management;

• definition of an ‘equivalent instrument’.

Afforestation and creation of woodlands U.K.

• Identification of species, areas and methods to be used to avoid inappropriate afforestation as referred to in Article 6(a) of Delegated Regulation (EU) No 807/2014, including the description of the environmental and climatic conditions of the areas in which afforestation is foreseen as referred to in Article 6(b) of that Regulation;

• definition of the minimum environmental requirements referred to in Article 6 of Delegated Regulation (EU) No 807/2014.

Establishment of agro-forestry systems U.K.

• Specification of minimum and maximum number of trees to be planted and, when mature, to be retained, per hectare and forest species to be used as referred to in Article 23(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013;

• indication of expected environmental benefits of the supported systems.

Prevention and restoration of damage from forest fires and natural disasters and catastrophic events U.K.

• Where relevant, list of species of organisms harmful to plants which may cause a disaster;

• identification of forest areas classified as being at medium to high risk of forest fire according to the relevant forest protection plan;

• in case of preventive actions concerning pests and diseases, description of a relevant disaster occurrence, supported by scientific evidence, including, where relevant, recommendations on dealing with pests and diseases made by scientific organisations.

Investments improving the resilience and environmental value of forest ecosystems U.K.

• Definition of types of eligible investment and their expected environmental outcome and/or public amenity value.

8. Setting up of producer groups and organisations (Article 27 of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013) U.K.

• Description of the official procedure for recognising the groups and organisations.

9. Agri-environment-climate (Article 28 of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013) U.K.

• Identification and definition of the relevant baseline elements; this shall include the relevant mandatory standards established pursuant to Chapter I of Title VI of Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council(1), the relevant criteria and minimum activities established pursuant to Article 4(1)(c)(ii) and (iii) of Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council(2), the relevant minimum requirements for fertilisers and plant protection products use, and other relevant mandatory requirements established by national law;

• the minimum requirements for fertilisers must include, inter alia, the Codes of Good Practice introduced by Council Directive 91/676/EEC(3) for farms outside nitrate vulnerable zones, and requirements concerning phosphorous pollution; the minimum requirements for plant protection products use must include, inter alia, general principles for integrated pest management introduced by Directive 2009/128/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council(4), requirements to have a licence to use the products and meet training obligations, requirements on safe storage, the checking of application machinery and rules on pesticide use close to water and other sensitive sites, established by national legislation;

• a table illustrating the relation between agri-environment-climate commitments and relevant usual farming practices and the relevant elements of the reference level (baseline elements), i.e. good agricultural and environmental conditions and statutory management requirements, minimum requirements for fertilisers and pesticides, other relevant national/regional requirements, and minimum activities.

• list of local breeds in danger of being lost to farming and of plant genetic resources under threat of genetic erosion;

• description of the methodology and of the agronomic assumptions and parameters including the description of the baseline requirements as referred to in Article 28(3) of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013, which are relevant for each particular type of commitment used as reference for the calculations justifying additional costs, income foregone resulting from the commitment made and level of the transaction costs; where relevant, that methodology shall take into account aid granted under Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013, including payment for agricultural practices beneficial for the climate and the environment, in order to exclude double funding; where appropriate, the conversion method used for other units in accordance with Article 9 of this Regulation.

10. Organic farming (Article 29 of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013) U.K.

• Identification and definition of the relevant baseline elements; this shall include the relevant mandatory standards established pursuant to Chapter I of Title VI of Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013, the relevant criteria and minimum activities established pursuant to Article 4(1)(c)(ii) and (iii) of Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013, the relevant minimum requirements for fertilisers and plant protection products use, and other relevant mandatory requirements established by national law;

• Description of the methodology and of the agronomic assumptions and parameters including the description of the baseline requirements referred to in Article 29(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 which are relevant for each particular type of commitment, used as reference for the calculations justifying additional costs, income foregone resulting from the commitment made and level of the transaction costs; where relevant, that methodology shall take into account aid granted under Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013, including payment for agricultural practices beneficial for the climate and the environment, in order to exclude double funding; where appropriate, the conversion method used for other units in accordance with Article 9 of this Regulation.

11. Natura 2000 and Water Framework Directive (‘WFD’) payments (Article 30 of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013) U.K.

• for Natura 2000: the areas designated to implement Council Directive 92/43/EEC and Directive 2009/147/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council(5) and the obligations for farmers resulting from the corresponding national and/or regional management provisions;

• in case other delimited nature protection areas with environmental restrictions are chosen to be supported within this measure, specification of the sites and contribution to the implementation of Article 10 of Directive 92/43/EEC;

• for WFD payments: definition of major changes in type of land use and description of the links with the programmes of measures of the river basin management plan referred to in Article 13 of Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council(6) (‘WFD’);

• identification and definition of the baseline elements; for Natura 2000 payments this shall include the good agricultural and environmental condition referred to in Article 94 and Annex II to Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 and the relevant criteria and minimum activities referred to in Article 4(1)(c)(ii) and (iii) of Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013; for WFD payments this shall include mandatory standards established pursuant to Chapter I of Title VI of Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 and the relevant criteria and minimum activities established pursuant to Article 4(1)(c)(ii) and (iii) of Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013;

• indication of the link between the implementation of the measure and the Prioritized Action Framwework (Art 8(4) of Directive 92/43/EEC);

• identification of the restrictions/disadvantages based on which payments can be granted and indication of compulsory practices;

• description of the methodology and the agronomic assumptions including the description of the baseline requirements referred to in Article 30(3) of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 for Directives 92/43/EEC and 2009/147/EC and in Article 30(4) of that Regulation for the WFD used as reference for the calculations justifying additional costs and income foregone resulting from the disadvantages in the areas concerned related to the implementation of Directives 92/43/EEC, 2009/147/EC and the WFD; where relevant, that methodology shall take into account payment for agricultural practices beneficial for the climate and the environment granted in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013, in order to exclude double funding.

12. Payments to areas facing natural or other specific constraints (Article 31 of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013) U.K.

• definition of the threshold level of area per holding on the basis of which the Member State calculates degressivity of payments;

Designation of areas facing natural and other specific constraints U.K.

• description of the local unit-level applied for the designation of the areas;

• description of the application of the method including the criteria referred to in Article 32 of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 for the delimitation of the three categories of areas referred to in that Article including the description and results of the fine-tuning exercise for areas facing natural and other specific constraints other than mountain areas.

13. Animal welfare (Article 33 of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013) U.K.

• definition and identification of the national and the Union requirements corresponding to the mandatory standards established pursuant to Chapter I of Title VI of Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013;

• description of the methodology and of the agronomic/zoo-technical assumptions and parameters, including the description of the baseline requirements referred to in Article 33(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 which are relevant for each particular type of commitment, used as reference for the calculations justifying additional costs and income foregone resulting from the commitment made.

14. Forest-environmental and climate services and forest conservation (Article 34 of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013) U.K.

• Definition and justification of the holding size above which support will be conditional on the submission of a forest management plan or equivalent instrument;

• definition of an ‘equivalent instrument’;

• identification of relevant mandatory requirements established by the national forestry act or other relevant national legislation;

• description of the methodology and of the assumptions and parameters, including the description of the baseline requirements as referred to in Article 34(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 which are relevant for each particular type of commitment, used as reference for the calculations justifying additional costs and income foregone resulting from the commitment made.

15. Cooperation (Article 35 of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013) U.K.

• Specification of the characteristics of pilot projects, clusters, networks, short supply chains and local markets.

[F1 16. Risk management (Articles 36 to 39a of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013)] U.K.

• Description of mechanisms to ensure that no overcompensation takes place.

Crop, animal, and plant insurance U.K.

• Description of conditions for insurance contracts to be eligible for support, to include at least:

  (a)

  particular risks insured against,

  (b)

  particular economic losses covered;

• rules to be used for establishing the calculation of the proportion of the average annual production of a farmer which has been destroyed.

Mutual funds for adverse climatic events, animal and plant diseases, pest infestations and environmental incidents U.K.

• Principles for funding arrangements, constitution and management of the mutual funds, to include in particular:

  (a)

  the list of adverse climatic events, animal or plant diseases, pest infestations or environmental incidents which may give rise to compensation to be paid to farmers, including geographical scope where appropriate,

  (b)

  the criteria for assessing whether a given event shall give rise to the payment of compensation to farmers,

  (c)

  the methods for calculating the additional costs which constitute economic losses,

  (d)

  the calculation of the administrative costs,

  (e)

  the method to be used for establishing the calculation of the proportion of the average annual production of a farmer which has been destroyed,

  (f)

  any limits to the costs that are eligible for a financial contribution;

• where the source of the financial compensation to be paid by the mutual fund is a commercial loan, minimum and maximum duration of the commercial loan.

Income stabilisation tool U.K.

• Principles for funding arrangements, constitution and management of the mutual funds, for granting of compensation payments to farmers, to include in particular:

  (a)

  the calculation of the administrative costs,

  (b)

  rules to be used for establishing the calculation of the drop in income,

  (c)

  any limits to the costs that are eligible for a financial contribution;

• where the source of the financial compensation to be paid by the mutual fund is a commercial loan, minimum and maximum duration of the commercial loan.

17. Community-led local development (LEADER) (Article 35 of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013, Articles 43 and 44 of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013) U.K.

• description of the obligatory community-led local development (hereafter ‘CLLD’) elements of which the LEADER measure is composed: preparatory support, implementation of operations under the CLLD strategy, preparation and implementation of cooperation activities of the local action group (hereafter ‘LAG’), running costs and animation, referred to in Article 35(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013;

• description of the use of the LEADER start-up-kit referred to in Article 43 of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 as specific type of preparatory support, if relevant;

• description of the system for ongoing application for LEADER cooperation projects referred to in Article 44(3) of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013;

• the procedure and the timetable to select the local development strategies;

• justification for selection of geographical areas for local development strategy implementation whose population falls outside the limits laid down in Article 33(6) of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013;

• coordination with the other European Structural and Investment (hereafter ‘ESI’) Funds as regards CLLD, including possible solution applied with regard to the use of the lead fund option, and any global complementarities between the ESI Funds in financing the preparatory support;

• possibility or not of paying advances;

• definition of the tasks of the Managing Authority, the paying agency and the LAGs under LEADER, in particular with regard to a non-discriminatory and transparent selection procedure and objective criteria for the selection of operations referred to in Article 34(3)(b) of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013;

• description of coordination mechanisms foreseen and complementarities ensured with operations supported under other rural development measures especially as regards:

  • investments in non-agricultural activities and business start-up aid under Article 19 of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013,

  • investments under Article 20 of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 and

  • cooperation under Article 35 of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 in particular implementation of local development strategies by public-private partnerships.

Textual Amendments

F1 Substituted by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/1077 of 30 July 2018 amending Implementing Regulation (EU) No 808/2014 laying down rules for the application of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council on support for rural development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD).

(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 1307/2013 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).

(3)

Council Directive 91/676/EEC of 12 December 1991 concerning the protection of waters against pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources (OJ L 375, 31.12.1991, p. 1).

(4)

Directive 2009/128/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 establishing a framework for Community action to achieve the sustainable use of pesticides (OJ L 309, 24.11.2009, p. 71).

(5)

Directive 2009/147/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 November 2009 on the conservation of wild birds (OJ L 20, 26.1.2010, p. 7).

(6)

Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000 establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy (OJ L 327, 22.12.2000, p. 1).