The types of intervention under this Chapter shall consist in payments or support with regard to:
(a)
environmental, climate-related and other management commitments;
(b)
natural or other area-specific constraints;
(c)
area-specific disadvantages resulting from certain mandatory requirements;
(d)
investments, including investments in irrigation;
(e)
setting-up of young farmers and new farmers and rural business start-up;
(f)
risk management tools;
(g)
cooperation;
(h)
knowledge exchange and dissemination of information.
Environmental, climate-related and other management commitments
1. Member States shall include agri-environment-climate commitments among the interventions in their CAP Strategic Plans and may include other management commitments therein. The payments for those commitments shall be granted under the conditions set out in this Article and as further specified in the CAP Strategic Plans.
2. Member States shall grant payments only to farmers or other beneficiaries who undertake, on a voluntary basis, management commitments which are considered to be beneficial to achieving one or more of the specific objectives set out in Article 6(1) and (2).
3. Under this Article, Member States shall provide payments only for commitments which:
(a)
go beyond the relevant statutory management requirements and GAEC standards established under Chapter I, Section 2;
(b)
go beyond the relevant minimum requirements for the use of fertiliser and plant protection products or for animal welfare, as well as other relevant mandatory requirements established by national and Union law; that requirement does not apply to commitments related to agroforestry systems and the maintenance of afforested areas;
(c)
go beyond the conditions established for the maintenance of the agricultural area in accordance with Article 4(2);
(d)
are different from commitments in respect of which payments are granted under Article 31.
For commitments referred to in the first subparagraph, point (b), where national law imposes new requirements which go beyond the corresponding minimum requirements laid down in Union law, support may be granted for commitments contributing to compliance with those requirements for a maximum of 24 months from the date on which they become mandatory for the holding.
4. Member States shall determine the payments to be made on the basis of the additional costs incurred and income foregone resulting from the commitments made, taking into account the targets set. Those payments shall be granted annually and may also cover transaction costs. In duly justified cases, Member States may grant support as a one-off payment per unit.
5. Member States may promote and support collective schemes and result-based payment schemes to encourage farmers or other beneficiaries to deliver a significant enhancement of the quality of the environment at a larger scale or in a measurable way.
6. Commitments shall be undertaken for a period of five to seven years.
However, Member States may in their CAP Strategic Plans determine:
(a)
a longer period for particular types of commitment, including by means of providing for their annual extension after the termination of the initial period, where such longer period is necessary in order to achieve or maintain certain environmental or animal welfare benefits;
(b)
a shorter period of at least one year for animal welfare commitments, for commitments for the conservation, sustainable use and development of genetic resources, for conversion to organic farming, for new commitments directly following the commitment performed in the initial period or in other duly justified cases.
7. Member States shall ensure that a revision clause is provided for operations implemented under the type of intervention referred to in this Article in order to ensure their adjustment in consequence of amendments to the relevant mandatory standards, requirements or obligations referred to in paragraph 3 beyond which the commitments have to go or to ensure compliance with the first subparagraph, point (d), of that paragraph. If such adjustment is not accepted by the beneficiary, the commitment shall expire and no reimbursement of payments under this Article shall be required in respect of the period during which the commitment was effective.
Member States shall also ensure that a revision clause is provided for operations implemented under the type of intervention referred to in this Article which extend beyond the CAP Strategic Plan period in order to allow for their adjustment to the legal framework applicable in the following period.
8. Where support under this Article is granted to agri-environment-climate commitments or commitments to convert to or maintain organic farming practices and methods as laid down in Regulation (EU) 2018/848, Member States shall establish a payment per hectare. For other commitments, Member States may apply units other than hectares. In duly justified cases, Member States may grant support under this Article as a lump sum.
9. Member States shall ensure that persons carrying out operations under this type of intervention have access to the relevant knowledge and information required to implement such operations, and that, in order to assist farmers who commit to change their production systems, appropriate training is made available for those who require it, as well as access to expertise.
10. Member States shall ensure that interventions under this Article are consistent with those based on Article 31.
1. Member States may grant payments for natural or other area-specific constraints under the conditions set out in this Article and as further specified in their CAP Strategic Plans with the view of contributing to the achievement of one or more of the specific objectives set out in Article 6(1) and (2).
2. Payments under this Article shall be granted to active farmers in respect of areas designated pursuant to Article 32 of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013.
3. Member States may carry out a fine-tuning exercise in accordance with the conditions provided for in Article 32(3), third subparagraph, of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013.
4. Member States may grant payments under this Article only in order to compensate beneficiaries for all or part of the additional costs and income foregone related to the natural or other area-specific constraints in the area concerned.
5. Additional costs and income foregone as referred to in paragraph 4 shall be calculated in respect of natural or other area-specific constraints, in comparison to areas which are not affected by natural or other area-specific constraints.
6. Payments under this Article shall be granted annually per hectare of agricultural area.
Area-specific disadvantages resulting from certain mandatory requirements
1. Member States may grant payments for area-specific disadvantages imposed by requirements resulting from the implementation of Directives 92/43/EEC, 2009/147/EC or 2000/60/EC under the conditions set out in this Article and as further specified in their CAP Strategic Plans with the view of contributing to the achievement of one or more of the specific objectives set out in Article 6(1) and (2).
2. Payments under this Article shall be granted to farmers, forest holders and their associations as well as other land managers.
3. When determining areas with disadvantages, Member States may include one or more of the following areas:
(a)
Natura 2000 agricultural and forest areas designated pursuant to Directives 92/43/EEC and 2009/147/EC;
(b)
other delimited nature protection areas with environmental restrictions applicable to farming or forestry which contribute to the implementation of Article 10 of Directive 92/43/EEC, provided that those areas do not exceed 5 % of the designated Natura 2000 areas covered by territorial scope of each CAP Strategic Plan;
(c)
agricultural areas included in river basin management plans pursuant to Directive 2000/60/EC.
4. Member States may only grant payments under this Article in order to compensate beneficiaries for all or part of the additional costs and income foregone related to the area-specific disadvantages in the area concerned, including transaction costs.
5. Additional costs and income foregone as referred to in paragraph 4 shall be calculated:
(a)
in respect of constraints arising from Directives 92/43/EEC and 2009/147/EC, in relation to disadvantages resulting from requirements that go beyond the relevant GAEC standards established under Chapter I, Section 2, of this Title as well as the conditions established for the maintenance of the agricultural area in accordance with Article 4(2) of this Regulation;
(b)
in respect of constraints arising from Directive 2000/60/EC, in relation to disadvantages resulting from requirements that go beyond the relevant statutory management requirements, with the exception of SMR 1 listed in Annex III to this Regulation, and GAEC standards established under Chapter I, Section 2, of this Title as well as the conditions established for the maintenance of the agricultural area in accordance with Article 4(2) of this Regulation.
6. Payments under this Article shall be granted annually per hectare.
1. Member States may grant support for investments under the conditions set out in this Article and as further specified in their CAP Strategic Plans.
2. Member States may only grant support under this Article for those investments in tangible and intangible assets that contribute to achieving one or more of the specific objectives set out in Article 6(1) and (2).
For holdings above a certain size, to be determined by the Member States in their CAP Strategic Plans, support for the forestry sector shall be conditional on the presentation of the relevant information from a forest management plan or equivalent instrument in accordance with the sustainable management of forests as defined in the General Guidelines for the Sustainable Management of Forests in Europe, adopted at the Second Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe held in Helsinki on 16-17 June 1993.
3. Member States shall establish a list of ineligible investments and categories of expenditure, including at least the following:
(a)
purchase of agricultural production rights;
(b)
purchase of payment entitlements;
(c)
purchase of land for an amount exceeding 10 % of the total eligible expenditure for the operation concerned, with the exception of land purchase for environmental conservation and carbon-rich soil preservation or land purchased by young farmers through the use of financial instruments; in the case of financial instruments, that ceiling shall apply to the eligible public expenditure paid to the final recipient, or, in the case of guarantees, to the amount of the underlying loan;
(d)
purchase of animals, and purchase of annual plants and their planting. for a purpose other than:
(i)
restoring agricultural or forestry potential following natural disaster, adverse climatic events or catastrophic event;
(ii)
protecting livestock against large predators or being used in forestry instead of machinery;
(iii)
rearing endangered breeds as defined in Article 2, point (24), of Regulation (EU) 2016/1012 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 45 ) under the commitments referred to in Article 70; or
(iv)
preserving plant varieties under threat of genetic erosion under the commitments referred to in Article 70;
(e)
interest rate on debt, except in relation to grants given in the form of an interest rate subsidy or guarantee fee subsidy;
(f)
investments in large-scale infrastructure, as determined by Member States in their CAP Strategic Plans, not being part of the community-led local development strategies set out in Article 32 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060, except for broadband and flood or coastal protection preventive actions aimed at reducing the consequences of probable natural disasters, adverse climatic events or catastrophic events;
(g)
investments in afforestation which are not consistent with environmental and climate-related objectives in line with sustainable forest management principles, as developed in the Pan-European Guidelines for Afforestation and Reforestation.
The first subparagraph, points (a), (b), (d) and (f), shall not apply where support is provided through financial instruments.
4. Member States shall limit the support to one or more rates not exceeding 65 % of the eligible costs.
The maximum support rates may be increased:
(a)
up to 80 % for the following investments:
(i)
investments linked to one or more of the specific objectives set out in Article 6(1), points (d), (e) and (f) and, as regards animal welfare, in Article 6(1), point (i);
(ii)
investments by young farmers who fulfil the conditions provided for by Member States in their CAP Strategic Plans in accordance with Article 4(6);
(iii)
investments in the outermost regions or the smaller Aegean islands;
(b)
up to 85 % for investments of small farms, as determined by Member States;
(c)
up to 100 % for the following investments:
(i)
afforestation, establishment and regeneration of agro-forestry systems, land consolidation in forestry and non-productive investments linked to one or more of the specific objectives set out in Article 6(1), points (d), (e) and (f), including non-productive investments aimed at protecting livestock and crops against damage caused by wild animals;
(ii)
investments in basic services in rural areas and infrastructure in agriculture and forestry, as determined by Member States;
(iii)
investments in the restoration of agricultural or forestry potential following natural disasters, adverse climatic events or catastrophic events and investments in appropriate preventive actions, as well as investments in maintaining the health of forests;
(iv)
non-productive investments supported through community-led local development strategies set out in Article 32 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 and the projects of EIP operational groups as referred to in Article 127(3) of this Regulation.
5. Where Union law results in the imposition of new requirements on farmers, support may be granted for investments to comply with those requirements for a maximum of 24 months from the date on which they become mandatory for the holding.
1. Member States may grant support for investments in irrigation in new and existing irrigated areas, provided that the conditions laid down in Article 73 and in this Article are fulfilled.
2. Investments in irrigation shall be supported only where the Member State concerned has sent to the Commission a river basin management plan as provided for in Directive 2000/60/EC for the entire area in which the investment is to take place, as well as for any other areas whose environment may be affected by the investment. The measures taking effect under the river basin management plan in accordance with Article 11 of that Directive and of relevance to the agricultural sector shall be specified in the relevant programme of measures.
3. Water metering enabling measurement of water use at the level of the supported investment shall be in place or shall be put in place as part of the investment.
4. Member States may grant support for an investment in an improvement to an existing irrigation installation or element of irrigation infrastructure only if:
(a)
it is assessed ex ante as offering potential water savings reflecting the technical parameters of the existing installation or infrastructure;
(b)
where the investment affects bodies of groundwater or surface water whose status has been identified as less than good in the relevant river basin management plan for reasons related to water quantity, an effective reduction in water use is achieved contributing to the achievement of good status of those water bodies, as laid down in Article 4(1) of Directive 2000/60/EC.
Member States shall set percentages for potential water savings and effective reduction in water use as an eligibility condition in their CAP Strategic Plans in accordance with Article 111, point (d). Such water savings shall reflect the needs set out in the river basin management plans emanating from Directive 2000/60/EC listed in Annex XIII to this Regulation.
None of the conditions in this paragraph shall apply to an investment in an existing installation which affects only energy efficiency, to an investment in the creation of a reservoir, or to an investment in the use of reclaimed water which does not affect a body of groundwater or surface water.
5. Member States may grant support for investments in the use of reclaimed water as an alternative water supply only if the provision and use of such water is compliant with Regulation (EU) 2020/741 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 46 ) .
6. Member States may grant support for an investment resulting in a net increase of the irrigated area affecting a given body of groundwater or surface water only if:
(a)
the status of the water body has not been identified as less than good in the relevant river basin management plan for reasons related to water quantity; and
(b)
an environmental impact analysis shows that there will be no significant negative environmental impact from the investment; that environmental impact analysis shall be either carried out or approved by the competent authority and may also refer to groups of holdings.
7. Member States may grant support for an investment in the creation or expansion of a reservoir for the purpose of irrigation only if it does not lead to significant negative environmental impact.
8. Member States shall limit the support to one or more rates not exceeding:
(a)
80 % of the eligible costs for irrigation on-farm investments made under paragraph 4;
(b)
100 % of the eligible costs for investments in off-farm infrastructure in agriculture to be used for irrigation;
(c)
65 % of the eligible costs for other irrigation on-farm investments.
Setting-up of young farmers and new farmers and rural business start-up
1. Member States may grant support for the setting-up of young farmers and the start-up of rural businesses, including the setting-up of new farmers, under the conditions set out in this Article and as further specified in their CAP Strategic Plans with the view of contributing to the achievement of one or more of the specific objectives set out in Article 6(1) and (2).
2. Member States may only grant support under this Article to help:
(a)
the setting-up of young farmers who fulfil the conditions provided for by Member States in their CAP Strategic Plans in accordance with Article 4(6);
(b)
the start-up of rural businesses linked to agriculture or forestry including the setting up of new farmers, or farm household income diversification into non-agricultural activities;
(c)
the business start-up of non-agricultural activities in rural areas related to the community-led local development strategies set out in Article 32 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060.
3. Member States shall set conditions for the submission and the content of a business plan which beneficiaries must provide in order to receive support under this Article.
4. Member States shall grant support in the form of lump sums or financial instruments or a combination of both. Support shall be limited to the maximum amount of aid of EUR 100 000 and may be differentiated in accordance with objective criteria.
1. Member States may grant support for risk management tools under the conditions set out in this Article and as further specified in their CAP Strategic Plans.
2. Support under this Article may be granted to promote risk management tools which help active farmers manage production and income risks related to their agricultural activity that are outside their control and which contribute to achieving one or more of the specific objectives set out in Article 6(1) and (2).
3. Member States may, in line with their assessment of needs, grant support for different types of risk management tool, including income stabilisation tools, and in particular:
(a)
financial contributions to premiums for insurance schemes;
(b)
financial contributions to mutual funds, including for the administrative cost of setting up.
4. When providing the support referred to in paragraph 3, Member States shall establish the following eligibility conditions:
(a)
the types and coverage of eligible risk management tools;
(b)
the methodology for the calculation of losses and triggering factors for compensation;
(c)
the rules for the constitution and management of the mutual funds and, where relevant, other eligible risk management tools.
5. Member States shall ensure that support is granted only for covering losses which exceed a threshold of at least 20 % of the average annual production or income of the farmer in the preceding three-year period, or a three-year average based on the preceding five-year period excluding the highest and lowest entry. Sectoral production risk management tools shall calculate the losses either at holding level or at the level of the holding’s activity in the sector concerned.
Member States may provide support in the form of standalone working capital finance under financial instruments referred to in Article 80(3) for the compensation of losses referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph to farmers who do not participate in a risk management tool.
6. Member States shall limit the support to one or more rates not exceeding 70 % of the eligible costs.
This paragraph shall not apply to the contributions referred to in Article 19.
7. Member States shall ensure that any overcompensation resulting from the combination of the interventions under this Article with other public or private risk management schemes is avoided.
1. Member States may grant support for cooperation under the conditions set out in this Article and as further specified in their CAP Strategic Plans to:
(a)
prepare and implement the projects of the EIP operational groups referred to in Article 127(3);
(b)
prepare and implement LEADER;
(c)
promote and support quality schemes recognised by the Union or by the Member States and their use by farmers;
(d)
support producer groups, producer organisations or interbranch organisations;
(e)
prepare and implement smart-village strategies, as determined by Member States;
(f)
support other forms of cooperation.
2. Member States may only grant support under this Article to promote new forms of cooperation, including existing ones if starting a new activity. That cooperation shall involve at least two actors and shall contribute to achieving one or more of the specific objectives set out in Article 6(1) and (2).
3. Member States may cover under this Article the costs related to all aspects of the cooperation.
4. Member States may grant the support as an overall amount under this Article covering the costs of cooperation and the costs of the operations implemented, or they may cover only the costs of cooperation and use funds from other types of intervention for rural development, or from other national or Union support instruments, to cover the costs of the operations implemented.
Where support is paid as an overall amount, Member States shall ensure that the operation implemented complies with the relevant rules and requirements laid down in Articles 70 to 76 and 78.
In the case of LEADER, by way of derogation from the first subparagraph of this paragraph:
(a)
support for all costs eligible for preparatory support under Article 34(1), point (a), of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 and for implementing selected strategies under points (b) and (c) of that paragraph shall only be granted as an overall amount under this Article; and
(b)
Member States shall ensure that implemented operations which consist of investments comply with the relevant Union rules and requirements under the type of intervention for investments laid down in Article 73 of this Regulation.
5. Member States shall not support under this Article cooperation solely involving research bodies.
6. In the case of cooperation in the context of farm succession, in particular for generational renewal at farm level, Member States may grant support only to farmers who have, or will have by the end of the operation, reached the retirement age determined by the Member State concerned in accordance with its national legislation.
7. Member States shall limit support to a maximum of seven years. That condition shall not apply to LEADER and in duly justified cases to collective environment and climate actions necessary to achieve the specific objectives set out in Article 6(1), points (d), (e) and (f).
8. Member States shall limit the support for:
(a)
information and promotion actions for quality schemes to one or more rates not exceeding 70 % of the eligible costs;
(b)
setting-up of producer groups, producer organisations or interbranch organisations to 10 % of the annual marketed production of the group or organisation with a maximum of EUR 100 000 per year; that support shall be degressive and limited to the first five years following recognition.
Knowledge exchange and dissemination of information
1. Member States may grant support for knowledge exchange and dissemination of information under the conditions set out in this Article and as further detailed in their CAP Strategic Plans with a view to contributing to achieving one or more of the specific objectives set out in Article 6(1) and (2) while specifically targeting the protection of nature, environment and climate, including environmental education and awareness actions and the development of rural businesses and communities.
2. Support under this Article may cover the costs of any relevant action to promote innovation, training and advice and other forms of knowledge exchange and dissemination of information, including through the drawing up and updating of plans and studies with the aim of knowledge exchange and dissemination of information. Such actions shall contribute to achieving one or more of the specific objectives set out in Article 6(1) and (2).
3. Support for advisory services shall only be granted for advisory services that comply with Article 15(3).
4. For the setting up of advisory services, Member States may grant support in the form of a fixed amount of a maximum of EUR 200 000. They shall ensure that support is limited in time.
5. Member States shall ensure that actions supported under this type of intervention are based on, and are consistent with, the description of the AKIS provided in their CAP Strategic Plans in accordance with Article 114, point (a)(i).
Section 2 — Elements applying to several types of intervention
1. After consultation of the monitoring committee referred to in Article 124 (‘the monitoring committee’), the national managing authority, regional managing authorities where relevant, or designated intermediate bodies shall set out selection criteria for interventions relating to the following types of intervention: investments, setting-up of young farmers and new farmers and rural business start-up, cooperation, knowledge exchange and dissemination of information. Those selection criteria shall aim to ensure equal treatment of applicants, better use of financial resources and targeting of the support in accordance with the purpose of the interventions.
Member States may decide not to apply selection criteria for investment interventions clearly targeting environmental purposes or carried out in connection with restoration activities.
By way of derogation from the first subparagraph, a different selection method may be established in duly justified cases after consultation of the monitoring committee.
2. The responsibility of the managing authorities or designated intermediate bodies set out in paragraph 1 shall be without prejudice to the tasks of the local action groups referred to in Article 33 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060.
3. Paragraph 1 shall not apply where support is provided in the form of financial instruments.
4. Member States may decide not to apply the selection criteria referred to in paragraph 1 to operations that have received a Seal of Excellence certification under Horizon 2020, established by Regulation (EU) No 1291/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 47 ) , under Horizon Europe or under the Programme for the Environment and Climate Action (LIFE), established by Regulation (EU) 2021/783 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 48 ) , provided that those operations are consistent with the CAP Strategic Plan.
5. All or part of an operation may be implemented outside the Member State concerned, including outside the Union, provided that the operation contributes to the achievement of the objectives of the CAP Strategic Plan.
1. Support in the form of financial instruments referred to in Article 58 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 may be granted under the types of intervention referred to in Articles 73 to 78 of this Regulation.
2. Where support is granted in the form of financial instruments, the definitions of ‘financial instrument’, ‘financial product’, ‘final recipient’, ‘holding fund’, ‘specific fund’, ‘leverage effect’, ‘multiplier ratio’, ‘management costs’ and ‘management fees’ laid down in Article 2 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 and the provisions of Title V, Chapter II, Section II, of that Regulation shall apply.
In addition, paragraphs 3, 4 and 5 of this Article shall apply.
3. In accordance with Article 58(2) of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060, working capital, including standalone working capital, may be eligible expenditure under Articles 73, 74, 76, 77 and 78 of this Regulation if it contributes to the achievement of at least one specific objective relevant for the intervention concerned. Support for standalone working capital finance under any of those Articles may be provided without being subject to the requirement that the final recipient receives support for other expenditure under the same Article.
For activities falling within the scope of Article 42 TFEU, the total amount of support for working capital provided to a final recipient shall not exceed a gross grant equivalent of EUR 200 000 over any period of three fiscal years.
4. By way of derogation from Articles 73, 74, 76, 77 and 78, the support rates laid down in those Articles shall not apply to standalone working capital finance.
5. Eligible expenditure of a financial instrument shall be the total amount of eligible public expenditure paid, excluding additional national financing as referred to in Article 115(5), or, in the case of guarantees, set aside for guarantee contracts by the financial instrument within the eligibility period. That amount shall correspond to:
(a)
payments to final recipients, in the case of loans, equity and quasi-equity investments;
(b)
resources set aside for guarantee contracts, whether outstanding or having already come to maturity, in order to honour possible guarantee calls for losses, calculated on the basis of a multiplier ratio established for the respective underlying disbursed new loans or equity investments in final recipients;
(c)
payments to, or for the benefit of, final recipients where financial instruments are combined with other Union contributions in a single financial instrument operation in accordance with Article 58(5) of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060;
(d)
payments of management fees and reimbursements of management costs incurred by the bodies implementing the financial instrument.
Where a financial instrument is implemented across consecutive programming periods, support may be provided to, or for the benefit of, final recipients, including management costs and fees, based on agreements made under the previous programming period, provided that such support complies with the eligibility rules of the subsequent programming period. In such cases, the eligibility of expenditure submitted in the declarations of expenditure shall be determined in accordance with the rules of the programming period concerned.
For the purposes of the first subparagraph, point (b), if the entity benefitting from the guarantees has not disbursed the planned amount of new loans, equity or quasi-equity investments to final recipients in accordance with the multiplier ratio, the eligible expenditure shall be reduced proportionally. The multiplier ratio may be reviewed where justified by subsequent changes in market conditions. Such a review shall not have retroactive effect.
For the purposes of the first subparagraph, point (d), of this paragraph, management fees shall be performance-based. Where bodies implementing a holding fund are selected through a direct award of contract pursuant to Article 59(3) of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060, the amount of management cost and fees paid to those bodies that can be declared as eligible expenditure shall be subject to a threshold of up to 5 % of the total amount of eligible public expenditure disbursed to final recipients in loans or set aside for guarantee contracts and up to 7 % of the total amount of eligible public expenditure disbursed to final recipients in equity and quasi-equity investments.
Where bodies implementing a specific fund are selected through a direct award of contract pursuant to Article 59(3) of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060, the amount of management cost and fees paid to those bodies that can be declared as eligible expenditure shall be subject to a threshold of up to 7 % of the total amount of the eligible public expenditure disbursed to final recipients in loans or set aside for guarantee contracts and up to 15 % of the total amount of eligible public expenditure disbursed to final recipients in equity or quasi-equity investments.
For the purposes of the first subparagraph, point (d), where bodies implementing a holding fund or specific funds are selected through a competitive tender in accordance with the applicable law, the amount of management costs and fees shall be established in the funding agreement and shall reflect the result of the competitive tender.
Where arrangement fees, or any part thereof, are charged to final recipients, they shall not be declared as eligible expenditure.
1. Member States may allocate, in the proposal for a CAP Strategic Plan referred to in Article 118 or in the request for amendment of a CAP Strategic Plan referred to in Article 119, an amount of up to 3 % of the initial total EAFRD allocation to the CAP Strategic Plan to be contributed to InvestEU and delivered through the EU guarantee and the InvestEU Advisory Hub. The CAP Strategic Plan shall contain a justification for the use of InvestEU and its contribution to the achievement of one or more of the specific objectives set out in Article 6(1) and (2) and chosen under the CAP Strategic Plan.
The amount contributed to InvestEU shall be implemented in accordance with the rules established in Regulation (EU) 2021/523.
2. Member States shall determine the total amount contributed for each year. In the case of a request for an amendment of a CAP Strategic Plan, those amounts shall concern only future years.
3. The amount referred to in paragraph 1 shall be used for the provisioning of the part of the EU guarantee under the Member State compartment and for the InvestEU Advisory Hub, upon conclusion of the contribution agreement referred to in Article 10(3) of Regulation (EU) 2021/523. The budgetary commitments of the Union in respect of each contribution agreement may be made by the Commission in annual instalments during the period between 1 January 2023 and 31 December 2027.
4. Where a contribution agreement as referred to in Article 10(2) of Regulation (EU) 2021/523 for the amount referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article allocated in the CAP Strategic Plan has not been concluded within four months following the adoption of the Commission implementing decision approving that CAP Strategic Plan in accordance with Article 118 of this Regulation, the corresponding amount shall be reallocated in the CAP Strategic Plan following the approval of a request for amendment by the Member State submitted in accordance with Article 119 of this Regulation.
A contribution agreement for the amount referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article allocated in a request for amendment of a CAP Strategic Plan submitted in accordance with Article 119 of this Regulation shall be concluded simultaneously with the adoption of the Commission implementing decision approving that amendment of the CAP Strategic Plan.
5. Where a guarantee agreement as referred to in Article 10(4), second subparagraph, of Regulation (EU) 2021/523 has not been concluded within nine months from the approval of the contribution agreement, the contribution agreement shall be terminated or prolonged by mutual agreement.
Where the participation of a Member State in InvestEU is discontinued, the amounts concerned paid into the common provisioning fund as provisioning shall be recovered as internal assigned revenue pursuant to Article 21(5) of the Financial Regulation and the Member State shall submit a request for amendment of its CAP Strategic Plan to use the amounts recovered and the amounts allocated to future calendar years in accordance with paragraph 2 of this Article.
The termination or amendment of the contribution agreement shall be concluded simultaneously with the adoption of the Commission implementing decision approving the relevant amendment of the CAP Strategic Plan and at the latest on 31 December 2026.
6. Where a guarantee agreement as referred to in Article 10(4), third subparagraph, of Regulation (EU) 2021/523 has not been duly implemented within the period agreed in the contribution agreement, but not exceeding four years from the signature of the guarantee agreement, the contribution agreement shall be amended. The Member State may request that amounts contributed to the EU guarantee under paragraph 1 of this Article and committed in the guarantee agreement but not covering underlying loans, equity investments or other risk bearing instruments are treated in accordance with paragraph 5 of this Article.
7. Resources generated by or attributable to the amounts contributed to the EU guarantee shall be made available to the Member State in accordance with Article 10(5), point (a), of Regulation (EU) 2021/523 and shall be used for support under the same objective or objectives referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article in the form of financial instruments or budgetary guarantees.
8. The automatic decommitment time limit as provided for in Article 34 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 for the amounts to be reused in a CAP Strategic Plan in accordance with paragraphs 4, 5 and 6 of this Article shall start in the year in which the corresponding budgetary commitments are made.
Where payments are granted on the basis of additional costs and income foregone in accordance with Articles 70, 71 and 72, Member States shall ensure that the relevant calculations are adequate and accurate and established in advance on the basis of a fair, equitable and verifiable calculation method. To that end, bodies that are functionally independent from the authorities responsible for the implementation of the CAP Strategic Plan and possess the appropriate expertise shall perform the calculations or confirm the adequacy and accuracy of the calculations.
1. Without prejudice to Articles 70, 71, 72 and 75, the grants under this Chapter may take any of the following forms:
(a)
reimbursement of eligible costs actually incurred by a beneficiary;
(b)
unit costs;
(c)
lump sums;
(d)
flat-rate financing.
2. The amounts for the forms of grants referred to in paragraph 1, points (b), (c) and (d), shall be established in one of the following ways:
(a)
a fair, equitable and verifiable calculation method based on:
(i)
statistical data, other objective information or an expert judgement;
(ii)
verified historical data of individual beneficiaries; or
(iii)
the application of usual cost accounting practices of individual beneficiaries;
(b)
draft budgets established on a case-by-case basis and agreed ex ante by the body selecting the operation;
(c)
in accordance with the rules for application of corresponding unit costs, lump sums and flat rates applicable in Union policies for a similar type of operation;
(d)
in accordance with the rules for application of corresponding unit costs, lump sums and flat rates applied under schemes for grants funded entirely by the Member State for a similar type of operation.
3. Member States may provide to beneficiaries grants under conditions which are fully or partially repayable as specified in the document setting out the conditions for support and in accordance with the following conditions:
(a)
repayments by the beneficiary shall be made under the conditions agreed by the managing authority and the beneficiary;
(b)
Member States shall reuse resources paid back by the beneficiary for the same specific objective of the CAP Strategic Plan by 31 December 2029 either in the form of grants under conditions, in the form of a financial instrument or in another form of support; the amounts paid back and information about their reuse shall be included in the last annual performance report;
(c)
Member States shall adopt the necessary measures to ensure that the resources are kept in separate accounts or under appropriate accounting codes;
(d)
Union resources paid back by beneficiaries at any time but not reused by 31 December 2029 shall be repaid to the Union budget in accordance with Article 34 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116.
Delegated powers for additional requirements for types of intervention for rural development
The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 152 supplementing this Regulation with requirements additional to those laid down in this Chapter concerning the conditions for granting support for the:
(a)
management commitments referred to in Article 70 concerning genetic resources and animal welfare;
(b)
quality schemes referred to in Article 77 as regards the specificity of the final product, the access to the scheme, the verification of binding product specifications, the transparency of the scheme and the traceability of the products, as well as the recognition by Member States of voluntary certification schemes.
