Exceptional temporary support to farmers and SMEs particularly affected by the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
Article 1
Open ↗Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 is amended as follows: (1) the following Article is inserted: ‘Article 39c Exceptional temporary support to farmers and SMEs particularly affected by the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine 1. Support under this measure shall provide emergency assistance to farmers and SMEs particularly affected by the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, aiming at ensuring continuity of their business activity, subject to the conditions set out in this Article. 2. Support shall be granted to farmers or SMEs active in processing, marketing or development of agricultural products covered by Annex I to the TFEU or cotton, except fishery products. The output of the production process may be a product not covered by that Annex. 3. Member States shall target the support to beneficiaries who are most affected by the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, by determining, on the basis of available evidence, eligibility conditions and, where considered appropriate by the Member State concerned, selection criteria, which shall be objective and non-discriminatory. The support provided by the Member States shall contribute to food security or address market imbalances and shall support farmers or SMEs engaging in one or more of the following activities pursuing those goals: (a) circular economy; (b) nutrient management; (c) efficient use of resources; (d) environmental and climate friendly production methods. 4. The support shall take the form of a lump sum payment to be paid by 15 October 2023, based on applications for support approved by the competent authority by 31 March 2023. The subsequent reimbursement by the Commission shall be made in accordance with budget appropriations and subject to available funding. The level of payment may be differentiated by categories of beneficiaries, in accordance with objective and non-discriminatory criteria. 5. The maximum amount of support shall not exceed EUR 15 000 per farmer and EUR 100 000 per SME. 6. When granting support under this Article, Member States shall take into account the support granted under other national or Union support instruments or private schemes to respond to the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.’; (2) in Article 49, paragraph 2 is replaced by the following: ‘2. The Member State authority responsible for the selection of operations shall ensure that operations, with the exception of operations under Article 18(1), point (b), Article 24(1), point (d), and Articles 28 to 31, 33, 34 and 36 to 39c, are selected in accordance with the selection criteria referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article and according to a transparent and well documented procedure.’; (3) in Article 59, the following paragraph is inserted: ‘6b. The EAFRD support provided under Article 39c shall not exceed 5 % of the total EAFRD contribution to the rural development programme for the years 2021-2022 as provided for in Part Two of Annex I.’.