Regulation (EU) 2017/2393 of the European Parliament and of the CouncilShow full title

Article 3 U.K. Amendments to Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013

Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013 is amended as follows:

(1)

Article 4 is amended as follows:

(a)

paragraph 1 is amended as follows:

(i)

point (h) is replaced by the following:

‘(h)

“permanent grassland and permanent pasture” (together referred to as “permanent grassland”) means land used to grow grasses or other herbaceous forage naturally (self-seeded) or through cultivation (sown) and that has not been included in the crop rotation of the holding for five years or more, as well as, where Member States so decide, that has not been ploughed up for five years or more; it may include other species such as shrubs and/or trees which can be grazed and, where Member States so decide, other species such as shrubs and/or trees which produce animal feed, provided that the grasses and other herbaceous forage remain predominant. Member States may also decide to consider as permanent grassland:

(i)

land which can be grazed and which forms part of established local practices where grasses and other herbaceous forage are traditionally not predominant in grazing areas; and/or

(ii)

land which can be grazed where grasses and other herbaceous forage are not predominant or are absent in grazing areas;’;

(ii)

the following subparagraph is added:

‘Notwithstanding points (f) and (h) of the first subparagraph, Member States which, prior to 1 January 2018, have accepted parcels of land lying fallow as arable land may continue to accept them as such after that date. From 1 January 2018 parcels of land lying fallow which have been accepted as arable land under this subparagraph in 2018 shall become permanent grassland in 2023, or thereafter, if the conditions set out in point (h) are met.’;

(b)

in paragraph 2, the following subparagraphs are added:

‘Member States may decide that:

(a)

land that has not been ploughed up for five years or more shall be considered permanent grassland as referred to in point (h) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 1, provided that the land is used to grow grasses or other herbaceous forages naturally (self-seeded) or through cultivation (sown) and that it has not been included in the crop rotation of the holding for five years or more;

(b)

permanent grassland may include other species such as shrubs and/or trees which produce animal feed, in areas where grasses and other herbaceous forage are predominant; and/or

(c)

land which can be grazed where grasses and other herbaceous forage are not predominant or are absent in grazing areas be considered permanent grassland as referred to in point (h) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 1.

Member States may decide, on the basis of objective and non-discriminatory criteria, to apply their decision in accordance with points (b) and/or (c) of the third subparagraph of this paragraph to the whole or a part of their territory.

Member States shall notify the Commission by 31 March 2018 of any decision taken pursuant to the third and fourth subparagraphs of this paragraph.’;

(2)

in Article 6(2), the following subparagraph is added:

‘Where a Member State makes use of the option provided for in the second subparagraph of Article 36(4), the national ceiling set out in Annex II for that Member State for the respective year may be exceeded by the amount calculated in accordance with that subparagraph.’;

(3)

Article 9 is amended as follows:

(a)

the following paragraph is inserted:

‘3a. In addition to paragraphs 1, 2 and 3, Member States may decide that no direct payments are to be granted to farmers who are not registered, for their agricultural activities, in a national fiscal or social security register.’;

(b)

paragraph 4 is replaced by the following:

‘4. Paragraphs 2, 3 and 3a 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.’;

(c)

paragraph 6 is replaced by the following:

‘6. Member States shall notify the Commission by 1 August 2014 of any decision referred to in paragraphs 2, 3 or 4, and by 31 March 2018 of any decision referred to in paragraph 3a. In the case of amendments to such decisions, Member States shall notify the Commission within two weeks of the date on which any decision to amend was taken.’;

(d)

the following paragraphs are added:

‘7. Member States may decide from 2018, or from any subsequent year, that only one or two of the three criteria listed in the third subparagraph of paragraph 2 may be invoked by persons or groups of persons falling within the scope of the first and second subparagraphs of paragraph 2, in order to demonstrate that they are active farmers. Member States shall notify the Commission of such a decision, if applied from 2018, by 31 March 2018 or, if applied from a subsequent year, by 1 August of the year preceding its application.

8. Member States may decide to stop applying paragraph 2 from 2018 or any subsequent year. They shall notify the Commission of such a decision, if applied from 2018, by 31 March 2018 or, if applied from a subsequent year, by 1 August of the year preceding its application.’;

(4)

in Article 11, paragraph 6 is replaced by the following:

‘6. Member States may review their decisions on a reduction of payments in accordance with this Article on an annual basis, provided that such review does not lead to a reduction of the amounts available for rural development.

Member States shall notify the Commission of the decisions taken in accordance with this Article and of any estimated product of reductions for the years until 2019 by 1 August of the year preceding the application of such decisions, the last possible date for such notification being 1 August 2018.’;

(5)

Article 14 is amended as follows:

(a)

in paragraph 1, the following subparagraph is added:

‘Member States may decide to review the decisions referred to in this paragraph with effect from calendar year 2019 and shall notify the Commission of any decision based on such review by 1 August 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, third and fourth subparagraphs.’;

(b)

in paragraph 2, the following subparagraph is added:

‘Member States may decide to review the decisions referred to in this paragraph with effect from calendar year 2019 and shall notify the Commission of any decision based on such review by 1 August 2018. Any decisions based on such review shall not result in an increase of the percentage notified to the Commission in accordance with the first, second, third and fourth subparagraphs.’;

(6)

in Article 31(1), point (g) is replaced by the following:

‘(g) where Member States consider it necessary, a linear reduction of the value of payment entitlements under the basic payment scheme at national or regional level to cover cases referred to in Article 30(6) of this Regulation. In addition, Member States already making use of that linear reduction may in the same year also apply a linear reduction of the value of payment entitlements under the basic payment scheme at national or regional level to cover cases referred to in points (a) and (b) of the first subparagraph of Article 30(7) of this Regulation;’;

(7)

in Article 36(4), the following subparagraphs are added:

‘For each Member State, the amount calculated in accordance with the first subparagraph of this paragraph may be increased by a maximum of 3 % of the relevant annual national ceiling set out in Annex II after deduction of the amount resulting from the application of Article 47(1) for the relevant year. When a Member State applies such an increase, that increase shall be taken into account by the Commission when setting the annual national ceiling for the single area payment scheme pursuant to the first subparagraph of this paragraph. For that purpose, Member States shall notify the Commission by 31 January 2018 of the annual percentages by which the amount calculated pursuant to paragraph 1 of this Article is to be increased each calendar year from 2018.

Member States may review their decision referred to in the second subparagraph of this paragraph on an annual basis and shall notify the Commission of any decision based on such review by 1 August of the year preceding its application.’;

(8)

Article 44 is amended as follows:

(a)

paragraph 2 is replaced by the following:

‘2. Without prejudice to the number of crops required pursuant to paragraph 1, the maximum thresholds set out therein shall not apply to holdings where grasses or other herbaceous forage or land lying fallow or cultivated with crops under water for a significant part of the year or for a significant part of the crop cycle cover more than 75 % of the arable land. In such cases, the main crop on the remaining arable area shall not cover more than 75 % of that remaining arable land, except where this remaining area is covered by grasses or other herbaceous forage or land lying fallow.’;

(b)

in paragraph 3, points (a) and (b) are replaced by the following:

‘(a)

where more than 75 % of the arable land is used for the production of grasses or other herbaceous forage, is used for cultivation of leguminous crops, is land lying fallow or is subject to a combination of those uses;

(b)

where more than 75 % of the eligible agricultural area is permanent grassland, is used for the production of grasses or other herbaceous forage or for the cultivation of crops under water for a significant part of the year or for a significant part of the crop cycle, or is subject to a combination of those uses;’;

(c)

in paragraph 4, the second subparagraph is replaced by the following:

‘Winter crop and spring crop shall be considered to be distinct crops even if they belong to the same genus. Triticum spelta shall be considered to be a distinct crop from crops belonging to the same genus.’;

(9)

Article 46 is amended as follows:

(a)

in paragraph 1, the first subparagraph is replaced by the following:

‘1. Where the arable land of a holding covers more than 15 hectares, the farmer shall ensure that, from 1 January 2015, an area corresponding to at least 5 % of the arable land of the holding that the farmer declared in accordance with point (a) of the first subparagraph of Article 72(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 and, if they are considered to be ecological focus area by the Member State in accordance with paragraph 2 of this Article, including the areas mentioned in points (c), (d), (g), (h), (k) and (l) of that paragraph is ecological focus area.’;

(b)

paragraph 2 is amended as follows:

(i)

in the first subparagraph, the following points are added:

‘(k)

areas with Miscanthus;

(l)

areas with Silphium perfoliatum;

(m)

land lying fallow for melliferous plants (pollen and nectar rich species).’;

(ii)

the second subparagraph is replaced by the following:

‘With the exception of the areas of the holding referred to in points (g), (h), (k) and (l) of the first subparagraph of this paragraph, the ecological focus area shall be located on the arable land of the holding. In the case of areas referred to in points (c) and (d) of the first subparagraph of this paragraph, the ecological focus area may also be adjacent to the arable land of the holding the farmer declared in accordance with point (a) of the first subparagraph of Article 72(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013.’;

(c)

in paragraph 4, points (a) and (b) are replaced by the following:

‘(a)

where more than 75 % of the arable land is used for the production of grasses or other herbaceous forage, is land lying fallow, is used for cultivation of leguminous crops, or is subject to a combination of those uses;

(b)

where more than 75 % of the eligible agricultural area is permanent grassland, is used for the production of grasses or other herbaceous forage or for the cultivation of crops under water either for a significant part of the year or for a significant part of the crop cycle, or is subject to a combination of those uses.’;

(10)

Article 50 is amended as follows:

(a)

paragraph 5 is replaced by the following:

‘5. The payment for young farmers shall be granted per farmer for a period of five years, starting from the first submission of the application for the payment for young farmers provided that that submission takes place within the five years following the setting up referred to in point (a) of paragraph 2. That period of five years shall also apply for farmers who have received payment for young farmers in respect of claims before claim year 2018.

By way of derogation from the second sentence of the first subparagraph, Member States may decide that, for those young farmers who set up in accordance with point (a) of paragraph 2 in the period 2010-2013, the five-year period is to be reduced by the number of years which have elapsed between the setting up referred to in point (a) of paragraph 2 and the first submission of the application for the payment for young farmers.’;

(b)

in paragraph 6, points (a) and (b) are replaced by the following:

‘(a)

between 25 % and 50 % of the average value of the owned or leased-in payment entitlements held by the farmer; or

(b)

between 25 % and 50 % of an amount calculated by dividing a fixed percentage of the national ceiling for the calendar year 2019 set out in Annex II by the number of all eligible hectares declared in 2015 in accordance with Article 33(1). That fixed percentage shall be equal to the share of the national ceiling remaining for the basic payment scheme in accordance with Article 22(1) for 2015.’;

(c)

paragraph 7 is replaced by the following:

‘7. Member States applying Article 36 shall each year calculate the amount of the payment for young farmers by multiplying a figure corresponding to a value between 25 % and 50 % of the single area payment calculated in accordance with Article 36 by the number of eligible hectares that the farmer has declared in accordance with Article 36(2).’;

(d)

in paragraph 8, the first subparagraph is replaced by the following:

‘8. By way of derogation from paragraphs 6 and 7 of this Article, Member States may calculate each year the amount of the payment for young farmers by multiplying a figure corresponding to a value between 25 % and 50 % of the national average payment per hectare by the number of entitlements that the farmer has activated in accordance with Article 32(1), or by the number of eligible hectares that the farmer has declared in accordance with Article 36(2).’;

(e)

in paragraph 10, the first subparagraph is replaced by the following:

‘10. Instead of applying paragraphs 6 to 9, Member States may allocate an annual lump sum amount per farmer calculated by multiplying a fixed number of hectares by a figure corresponding to a value between 25 % and 50 % of the national average payment per hectare, as established in accordance with paragraph 8.’;

(11)

Article 52 is amended as follows:

(a)

paragraph 5 is deleted;

(b)

paragraph 6 is replaced by the following:

‘6. Coupled support is a production-limiting scheme that shall take the form of an annual payment based on fixed areas and yields or on a fixed number of animals and shall respect financial ceilings to be determined by Member States for each measure and notified to the Commission.’;

(c)

the following paragraph is added:

‘10. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 70 supplementing this Regulation as regards measures in order to avoid beneficiaries of voluntary coupled support suffering from structural market imbalances in a sector. Those delegated acts may allow Member States to decide that such support may continue to be paid until 2020 on the basis of the production units for which voluntary coupled support was granted in a past reference period.’;

(12)

in Article 53, paragraph 6 is replaced by the following:

‘6. Member States may, by 1 August of any given year, review their decision pursuant to this Chapter and decide, with effect from the following year:

(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.

Member States shall notify the Commission of any such decision by the date referred to in the first subparagraph.’;

(13)

Article 70 is amended as follows:

(a)

paragraph 2 is replaced by the following;

‘2. The power to adopt delegated acts referred to in Article 2, Article 4(3), Article 6(3), Article 7(3), Article 8(3), Article 9(5), Article 20(6), Article 35, Article 36(6), Article 39(3), Article 43(12), Article 44(5), Article 45(5) and (6), Article 46(9), Article 50(11), Article 52(9) and (10), Article 57(3), Article 58(5), Article 59(3), Article 64(5), Article 67(1) and (2) and Article 73 shall be conferred on the Commission for a period of seven years from 1 January 2014. The Commission shall draw up a report in respect of the delegation of power not later than nine months before the end of the seven-year period. The delegation of power shall be tacitly extended for periods of an identical duration, unless the European Parliament or the Council opposes such extension not later than three months before the end of each period.’;

(b)

paragraph 3 is replaced by the following;

‘3. The delegation of power referred to in Article 2, Article 4(3), Article 6(3), Article 7(3), Article 8(3), Article 9(5), Article 20(6), Article 35, Article 36(6), Article 39(3), Article 43(12), Article 44(5), Article 45(5) and (6), Article 46(9), Article 50(11), Article 52(9) and (10), Article 57(3), Article 58(5), Article 59(3), Article 64(5), Article 67(1) and (2) and Article 73 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.’;

(c)

paragraph 5 is replaced by the following;

‘5. A delegated act adopted pursuant to Article 2, Article 4(3), Article 6(3), Article 7(3), Article 8(3), Article 9(5), Article 20(6), Article 35, Article 36(6), Article 39(3), Article 43(12), Article 44(5), Article 45(5) and (6), Article 46(9), Article 50(11), Article 52(9) and (10), Article 57(3), Article 58(5), Article 59(3), Article 64(5), Article 67(1) and (2) and Article 73 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.’;

(14)

Annex X is amended in accordance with Annex II to this Regulation.