Exceptional temporary support to farmers, forest holders and SMEs particularly affected by natural disasters
Article 1
Open ↗Regulation (EU) 2020/2220 is amended as follows: (1) in Article 1(2), the following subparagraph is added: ‘By way of derogation from the first subparagraph, second sentence, of this paragraph, when reallocating funds to and spending funds for measures referred to in Article 6a of this Regulation and in Article 18(1), point (b), of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013, Member States may decrease the overall share of the EAFRD contribution reserved for the measures referred to in Article 59(6) of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013. That decrease shall not go beyond the EAFRD amounts reallocated to the measures referred to in Article 6a of this Regulation and in Article 18(1), point (b), of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013, and shall not exceed 15 percentage points of the overall share of the EAFRD contribution set in the rural development programmes for the measures referred to in Article 59(6) of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013. For that purpose, the overall share of the EAFRD contribution set in the rural development programmes as planned at the time of the extension of the period of duration of programmes supported by the EAFRD until 31 December 2022, in accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article, shall be taken into account. The overall share reserved for the measures referred to in Article 59(6) of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 shall not be lower than the minimum threshold set out in that Article. The same decrease in percentage points may be applied to the additional resources referred to in Article 58a(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 without reallocating funds to the measures referred to in Article 6a of this Regulation and in Article 18(1), point (b), of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013.’ ; (2) in Article 2, the following paragraph is added: ‘5. By way of derogation from Article 65(6) of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013, the managing authority may select for support operations that have been physically completed or fully implemented before the submission of an application for funding to the managing authority, provided that those operations are implemented through the measures referred to in Article 6a of this Regulation and in Article 18(1), point (b), or Article 24(1), point (d), of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 and provided that such operations provide a response to a natural disaster which occurred on or after 1 January 2024.’ ; (3) the following articles are inserted: ‘Article 6a Exceptional temporary support to farmers, forest holders and SMEs particularly affected by natural disasters 1. Support under this Article shall provide emergency assistance to farmers, forest holders and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that are particularly affected by natural disasters, aimed at ensuring continuity of their business activity, subject to the conditions set out in this Article. 2. Support under this Article shall be subject to the formal recognition by the competent public authorities of Member States that a natural disaster as defined in Article 2(1), point (k), of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 has occurred on or after 1 January 2024 and that that natural disaster, or measures adopted in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2016/2031 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( *1 ) to eradicate or contain a plant disease or pest, have caused the destruction of at least 30 % of the relevant production or potential. 3. Support under this Article shall be granted to: (a) farmers; (b) private and public forest holders and other private law and public bodies and their associations, excluding State-owned forest managed by the State; (c) SMEs active in the processing, marketing or development of agricultural products covered by Annex I to the TFEU or cotton, except fishery products; or (d) SMEs active in the processing, mobilising and marketing of forest products. With regard to the processing of agricultural products, the output of the production process may be a product not covered by Annex I to the TFEU. 4. Member States shall target the support under this Article to beneficiaries who are most affected by natural disasters, by determining eligibility conditions on the basis of available evidence. 5. The support under this Article shall take the form of a lump sum payment to be paid by 31 December 2025, based on applications for support approved by the competent authority by 30 June 2025. The level of payment may be differentiated by categories of beneficiaries, on the basis of objective and non-discriminatory criteria. 6. The maximum amount of support under this Article shall not exceed EUR 42 000 per beneficiary. 7. 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 natural disasters in order to ensure sound financial management in accordance with Article 33 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( *2 ) , as applicable, while targeting the support to beneficiaries who are most affected by natural disasters. Article 6b Provisions applicable to the exceptional temporary support to farmers, forest holders and SMEs particularly affected by natural disasters 1. The exceptional temporary support referred to in Article 6a of this Regulation shall be financed by the EAFRD as a measure within the meaning of Article 13 of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013. 2. The maximum EAFRD contribution for the measure referred to in Article 6a shall be 100 %. 3. The EAFRD support provided for the measure referred to in Article 6a shall not exceed 10 % of the total EAFRD contribution to the rural development programme for the years 2021–2022. Article 6c Force majeure As regards the implementation of Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 for the purposes of the financing, management and monitoring of the CAP when recognising the cases of “force majeure”, as referred to in Article 2(2) of that Regulation, where a severe natural disaster gravely affects a well-determined area, the Member State concerned may consider that whole area to be gravely affected by that disaster. Article 6d Commission implementing powers 1. The Commission may adopt implementing acts laying down rules necessary for the implementation of the measure referred to in Article 6a through rural development programmes within the legal framework applicable in the programming period 2014–2020, extended in accordance with Article 1, on: (a) monitoring and evaluation of the rural development policy; (b) presentation of the rural development programmes; (c) presentation of the annual implementation reports; (d) implementation of checks and penalties. 2. The implementing acts referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( *3 ) . Article 6e Committee procedure 1. In exercising the implementing powers set out in Article 6d(1), points (a), (b) and (c), of this Regulation, the Commission shall be assisted by the Rural Development Committee established by Article 84 of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013. That committee shall be a committee within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011. 2. In exercising the implementing powers set out in Article 6d(1), point (d), of this Regulation, the Commission shall be assisted by the Committee on the Agricultural Funds established by Article 103(1) of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( *4 ) . That committee shall be a committee within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011. ( *1 ) Regulation (EU) 2016/2031 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 October 2016 on protective measures against pests of plants, amending Regulations (EU) No 228/2013, (EU) No 652/2014 and (EU) No 1143/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Council Directives 69/464/EEC, 74/647/EEC, 93/85/EEC, 98/57/EC, 2000/29/EC, 2006/91/EC and 2007/33/EC ( OJ L 317, 23.11.2016, p. 4 , ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2016/2031/oj)." ( *2 ) Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 September 2024 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union ( OJ L, 2024/2509, 26.9.2024, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/2509/oj )." ( *3 ) Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 2011 laying down the rules and general principles concerning mechanisms for control by Member States of the Commission’s exercise of implementing powers ( OJ L 55, 28.2.2011, p. 13 , ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2011/182/oj)." ( *4 ) Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 2 December 2021 on the financing, management and monitoring of the common agricultural policy and repealing Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 ( OJ L 435, 6.12.2021, p. 187 , ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2021/2116/oj).’."