1. Union aid of a total amount of EUR 500 000 000 shall be available to Member States to provide exceptional adjustment aid to producers in the sectors listed in Article 1(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 subject to the conditions set out in this Regulation.
2. Member States shall use the amounts available to them as set out in the Annex for measures referred to in paragraph 3 in sectors affected by market disturbance due to increased input costs or trade restrictions. The measures shall be taken on the basis of objective and non-discriminatory criteria that take account of the extent of the market disturbance in the different sectors, provided that the resulting payments do not cause distortion of competition.
3. The measures taken by the Member States shall contribute to food security or to address market imbalances and shall support farmers who engage in one or more of the following activities pursuing these goals:
(a)
circular economy;
(b)
nutrient management;
(c)
efficient use of resources;
(d)
environmental and climate friendly production methods.
4. Member States shall ensure that, when farmers are not the direct beneficiaries of the payments of the Union aid, the economic benefit of the Union aid is passed on to them in full.
5. Member States' expenditure in relation to the payments for the measures referred to in paragraph 3 shall only be eligible for Union aid if those payments have been made by 30 September 2022.
6. In respect of Member States not having adopted the euro into their national currencies, the operative event for the exchange rate referred to in Article 106 of Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 as regards the amounts set out in the Annex to this Regulation shall be the date of entry into force of this Regulation.
7. Measures under this Regulation may be cumulated with other support financed by the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development.