Definitions
Article 2
1. For the purpose of this Regulation the following definitions shall apply: (1) ‘ad hoc aid’ means aid not granted on the basis of an aid scheme; (2) ‘adverse climatic event which can be assimilated to a natural disaster’ means unfavourable weather conditions such as frost, storms and hail, ice, heavy or persistent rainfall or severe droughts, which reduce by more than 30 % the average of the production calculated on the basis of one of the following methods: (a) the preceding three-year period; (b) a three year average based on the preceding five-year period, excluding the highest and the lowest entry; (3) ‘aid’ means any measure fulfilling all the criteria laid down in Article 107(1) TFEU; (4) ‘aid intensity’ means the gross aid amount expressed as a percentage of the eligible costs, before any deduction of tax or other charge; (5) ‘aid scheme’ means any act on the basis of which, without further implementing measures being required, individual aid awards may be made to undertakings defined within the act in a general and abstract manner and any act on the basis of which aid which is not linked to a specific project may be granted to one or several undertakings for an indefinite period of time and/or for an indefinite amount; (6) ‘biosecurity’ means management and physical measures designed to reduce the risk of introduction, development and spread of diseases to, from and within: (a) an animal population, or (b) an establishment, zone, compartment, means of transport or any other facilities, premises or location; (7) ‘control and eradication measures’ means measures regarding animal diseases for which a competent authority has formally recognised an outbreak, or regarding plant pests or invasive alien species for which a competent authority has formally acknowledged their presence; (8) ‘date of granting the aid’ means the date when the legal right to receive the aid is conferred on the beneficiary undertaking under the applicable national legal regime; (9) ‘depredation’ means preying on fish caught in nets or kept in ponds by protected animals such as seals, sea otters and sea birds; (10) ‘evaluation plan’ means a document covering one or more aid schemes and containing at least the following minimum aspects: the objectives to be evaluated, the evaluation questions, the result indicators, the envisaged method to conduct the evaluation, the data collection requirements, the proposed timing of the evaluation including the date of submission of the interim and the final evaluation reports, the description of the independent body that will carry out the evaluation or the criteria that will be used for its selection and the modalities for making the evaluation publicly available; (11) ‘fiscal successor scheme’ means a scheme in the form of tax advantages which constitutes an amended version of a previously existing scheme in the form of tax advantages and which replaces it; (12) ‘fisher’ means any natural person engaging in commercial fishing activities, as recognised by the Member State concerned; (13) ‘fishery and aquaculture products’ means the products listed in Annex I to Regulation (EU) No 1379/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 17 ) ; (14) ‘fishery and aquaculture sector’ means the sector of the economy which comprises all activities of production, processing, and marketing of fishery or aquaculture products; (15) ‘fishing capacity’ means a vessel’s tonnage in GT (Gross Tonnage) and its power in kW (Kilowatt) as defined in Articles 4 and 5 of Regulation (EU) 2017/1130 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 18 ) ; (16) ‘fishing port’ means a maritime or inland area of land and water which is officially recognised by a Member State and made up of such infrastructure and equipment so as to permit, mainly, the reception of fishing vessels, loading and unloading their catches, the storage, receipt and delivery of those catches and the embarkation and disembarkation of fishers; (17) ‘gross grant equivalent’ means the amount of the aid if it had been provided in the form of a grant to the beneficiary undertaking, before any deduction of tax or other charges; (18) ‘individual aid’ means ad hoc aid and awards of aid to individual beneficiaries on the basis of an aid scheme; (19) ‘inland fishing’ means fishing activities carried out for commercial purposes in inland waters by vessels or other devices, including those used for ice fishing; (20) ‘invasive alien species’ means invasive alien species of Union concern and invasive alien species of Member State concern as defined in Article 3(3) and 3(4) of Regulation (EU) No 1143/2014 ( 19 ) of the European Parliament and of the Council (‘Regulation (EU) No 1143/2014’); (21) ‘natural disasters’ means earthquakes, avalanches, landslides, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, volcanic eruptions and wild fires of natural origin; (22) ‘outermost regions’ means the regions referred to in Article 349 TFEU; (23) ‘protected animal’ means any animal other than fish protected either by Union or by national legislation; (24) ‘repayable advance’ means a loan for a project which is paid in one or more instalments and the conditions for the reimbursement of which depend on the outcome of the project; (25) ‘SME’ or ‘micro, small and medium-sized enterprises’ means undertakings fulfilling the criteria laid down in Annex I; (26) ‘small-scale coastal fishing’ means fishing activities carried out by: (a) marine and inland fishing vessels of an overall length of less than 12 metres and not using towed gear as defined in point (1) of Article 2 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1967/2006 ( 20 ) ; or (b) fishers on foot, including shellfish gatherers; (27) ‘start of works’ means the earlier of either the start of construction works relating to the investment, or the first legally binding commitment to order equipment or any other commitment that makes the investment irreversible. Buying land and preparatory works such as obtaining permits and conducting feasibility studies are not considered start of works. For take-overs, ‘start of works’ means the moment of acquiring assets directly linked to the acquired establishment; (28) ‘subsidised services’ means a form of aid, where the aid is granted to the final beneficiary undertaking indirectly, in kind, and is paid to the provider of the service or activity in question; (29) ‘undertaking in difficulty’ means an undertaking fulfilling the criteria laid down in Article 2, point (18), of Commission Regulation (EU) No 651/2014 ( 21 ) . 2. In addition to the definitions listed in paragraph 1, the definitions provided for in Article 4 of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013, Article 2 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1139 and Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No 1379/2013 shall apply.