Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/587 of 12 February 2024 providing for a derogation from Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the application of the standard for good agricultural and environmental conditions of land (GAEC standard) 8, dates of eligibility of expenditure for contribution from the EAGF and rules concerning amendments of CAP Strategic Plans for modifications of certain eco-schemes for claim year 2024

• CELEX: Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/587
• Articles: 4

Article 1 Derogation from the first requirement of GAEC standard 8 for claim year 2024

1.   By way of derogation from the first requirement of good agricultural and environmental conditions of land (GAEC) standard 8, Member States may decide that for claim year 2024 farmers and other beneficiaries subject to that standard may fulfil the first requirement of that standard by devoting a minimum share of at least 4 % of arable land at farm level to:

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non-productive areas and features, including land lying fallow; and/or

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nitrogen fixing crops; and/or

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catch crops.

Catch crops and nitrogen fixing crops shall be cultivated without the use of plant protection products. Member States shall use a weighting factor of 1 for catch crops.

Decisions taken by Member States in application of paragraph 1 shall apply as from 1 January 2024.

2.   For the purpose of the eco-schemes referred to in Article 31 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 and of the agri-environmental, climate-related and other management commitments referred to in Article 70 of that Regulation, and established by Member States in their CAP Strategic Plans, for claim year 2024, Member States taking the decisions referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall ensure that where a farmer decides to comply with the GAEC standard 8, first requirement, based on the requirement referred to in paragraph 1, payments shall be made only for commitments that go beyond that requirement, as laid down in Articles 31(5), first subparagraph, point (a), and 70(3), first subparagraph, point (a), of that Regulation.

Article 2 Time limit, notification of decisions and their application

Member States which decide to make use of the derogation referred to in Article 1(1), shall notify the Commission of the decision taken pursuant to that Article by means of the information-technology-based system made available by the Commission pursuant to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/1185 within 15 days from the date of entry into force of this Regulation.

Member States shall include the decision taken pursuant to Article 1(1) of this Regulation in Section 3.10 on Conditionality and GAEC standard of CAP Strategic Plans as part of the first request of amendment of the CAP Strategic Plan in accordance with Article 119 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 after the notification according to the first subparagraph.

The decisions taken pursuant to Article 1(1) of this Regulation shall not be subject to the Commission approval referred to in Article 119(10) of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115.

Member States which make use of the derogation referred to in Article 1(1), shall include in the annual performance report referred to in Article 134 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115, which is due on 15 February 2025, data on the uptake of the derogation.

Article 3 Derogations from Articles 86(2) and 119 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 for claim year 2024

1.   By way of derogation from Article 119 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115, and without prejudice to Article 1(2), Member States, which decide to make use of the derogation referred to in Article 1(1), may, without prior approval of the Commission, make and apply modifications to eco-schemes referred to in Article 31 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115, set in the CAP Strategic Plans, which are based on the first requirement of GAEC standard 8, as a baseline, in respect to claim year 2024.

These modifications shall be limited to those elements of the eco-schemes referred to in the first subparagraph, which are strictly necessary to ensure that farmers taking up commitments under those eco-schemes may combine those commitments with the options for fulfilling the first requirement of GAEC standard 8 laid down in Article 1(1).

2.   Member States shall set the starting date for the application of the modifications referred to in paragraph 1 so as to give farmers sufficient time to take those modifications into account.

3.   Member States shall notify the Commission of the modifications referred to in paragraph 1 by the time they start applying them.

The notification shall be submitted by means of the electronic data exchange system ‘SFC2021’. The notification shall contain a description of the modifications made to the eco-schemes referred to in the first paragraph and an explanation of the reasons why those modifications are strictly necessary as required by paragraph 1.

4.   Member States may make use of the derogation referred to in paragraph 1 only once.

5.   Member States shall include the modifications referred to in paragraph 1 in the next request for amendment of the CAP Strategic Plan in accordance with Article 119(1) of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115.

6.   By way of derogation from Article 86(2) of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115, expenditure that becomes eligible as a result of the modifications to the CAP Strategic Plans referred to in the first paragraph shall be eligible for contribution from the EAGF from the date of the notification referred to in paragraph 3.

Article 4 Entry into force

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union .