COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) No 808/2014
of 17 July 2014
laying down rules for the application of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council on support for rural development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD)
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 on support for rural development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005 (1), and in particular Article 8(3), Article 12, Article 14(6), Article 41, Articles 54(4) and 66(5), Article 67, Articles 75(5) and 76(1),
Whereas:
(1)
Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 lays down general rules governing Union support for rural development financed by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD), complementing the common provisions for the European Structural and Investment Funds laid down in Part Two of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and the Council (2). In order to ensure that the new legal framework established by those Regulations functions smoothly and applies uniformly, the Commission has been empowered to adopt certain rules for its implementation.
(2)
Rules for the presentation of the content of rural development programmes, based in particular on the requirements of Article 8 of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 and Article 27 of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 should be laid down. It should also be established which of those rules for the presentation also apply to programmes dedicated to joint instruments for uncapped guarantees and securitisation providing capital relief implemented by the European Investment Bank (‘EIB’) referred to in Article 28 of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013. Rules for the content of national frameworks should also be laid down.
(3)
The procedures and timetables for the approval of national frameworks should be established.
(4)
In order to systematise the amendment of rural development programmes, rules for their submission as well as for the frequency of amendments should be established. This should be done in order to reduce as much as possible the administrative burden while leaving flexibility for clearly defined emergencies and specific situations.
(5)
Rules for amendments to national frameworks including on timing and in particular to facilitate the amendment of national frameworks of Member States which have regional programmes should be established.
(6)
In order to ensure the good use of EAFRD resources, voucher systems or equivalent systems for payment of participants’ costs for knowledge transfer and information actions should be established to ensure that reimbursed expenditure is clearly connected to a specific, eligible training or knowledge transfer action provided to the participant.
(7)
In order to ensure that the service provider offering best value for money is chosen, the selection of authorities or bodies offering advisory services should follow the applicable national public procurement rules.
(8)
As final payments should only be granted upon the correct implementation of business plans, common parameters for such assessments should be established. Additionally, in order to facilitate the access for young farmers setting up for the first time to other measures under the farm and business development measure referred to in Article 19 of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013, rules for the coverage of several measures in the business plans as well as for the approval procedure of the related applications should be established.
(9)
Member States should be allowed to calculate support for commitments under the agri-environment-climate, organic farming and animal welfare measures on the basis of other units than those established in Annex II to Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 because of the specific nature of those commitments. Rules should be established concerning the compliance with the maximum amounts allowed, the exception for payments per livestock unit and the conversion rates of different categories of animals to livestock units.
(10)
In order to ensure that the calculation of additional costs and income foregone for measures referred to in Articles 28 to 31, 33 and 34 of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 is done in a transparent and verifiable manner certain common elements for the calculation that apply across Member States should be established.
(11)
In order to avoid overcompensation and an increased administrative burden, rules for the combination of certain measures should be set up.
(12)
Rules regarding the start of the operation of the national rural networks as well as on their structure should be established in order to ensure that the networks can work efficiently and in a timely manner in order to accompany the programme implementation.
(13)
In order to ensure information and publicity on the rural development activities benefitting from support by the EAFRD, the Managing Authority has responsibilities to fulfil which should be further specified in this Regulation. The Managing Authority should systemise its overall information and publicity efforts in a strategy, and through the establishment of a single website or website portal raise awareness regarding the objectives of rural development policy and strengthen accessibility and transparency of information about funding opportunities. Provision on the responsibility of beneficiaries to inform about the EAFRD support provided for their projects should be made.
(14)
In order to facilitate the setting up of the common monitoring and evaluation system, the common elements of that system including the indicators and the evaluation plan should be defined.
(15)
The central elements of the annual implementation report referred to in Article 75 of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 and the minimum requirements for the evaluation plan referred to in Article 56 of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 should be established.
(16)
The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Rural Development Committee,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
Subject matter
This Regulation lays down rules for the implementation of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 as regards the presentation of rural development programmes, procedures and timetables for approval and amendment of rural development programmes and national frameworks, the content of national frameworks, information and publicity for rural development programmes, implementation of certain rural development measures, monitoring and evaluation and reporting.
Article 2
Content of rural development programmes and national frameworks
The presentation of the content of rural development programmes as referred to in Article 27 of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 and Article 8 of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013, of national programmes dedicated to joint instruments for uncapped guarantees and securitisation providing capital relief implemented by the European Investment Bank (‘EIB’) as referred to in Article 28 of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 and of national frameworks as referred to in Article 6(3) of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013, shall be established in accordance with Annex I to this Regulation.
Article 3
Adoption of national frameworks
National frameworks as referred to in Article 6(3) of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 shall be adopted in accordance with Article 29 of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013.
Article 4
Amendments of rural development programmes
1. Proposals to amend rural development programmes and specific programmes for the establishment and operation of national rural networks shall contain, in particular, the following information:
(a)
the type of amendment that is being proposed;
(b)
the reasons and/or implementation problems that justify the amendment;
(c)
the expected effects of the amendment;
(d)
the impact of the change on indicators;
(e)
the relationship between the change and the Partnership Agreement referred to in Chapter II of Title II of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013.
2. Programme amendments of the type referred to in Article 11(a)(i) of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 may be proposed no more than three times during the duration of the programming period.
A single amendment proposal for all other types of amendments combined may be submitted per calendar year and per programme, with the exception of the year 2023 in which year more than a single amendment proposal may be submitted for amendments concerning exclusively the adaptation of the financing plan, including any resulting changes to the indicator plan.
The first and second subparagraphs shall not apply:
(a)
in case emergency measures due to natural disasters and catastrophic events formally recognized by the competent national public authority need to be taken; or
(b)
in case an amendment is necessary following a change to the Union legal framework; or
(c)
following the performance review referred to in Article 21 of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013; or
(d)
in case of a change in the EAFRD contribution planned for each year referred to in Article 8(1)(h)(i) of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 resulting from developments of the annual breakdown by Member State referred to in Article 58(7) of that Regulation.
3. Member States shall submit their last programme amendment of the type referred to in Article 11(a)(iii) of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 to the Commission by 30 September 2020.
Other types of programme amendments shall be submitted to the Commission by 30 September 2023.
4. When a programme amendment changes any of the data that is included in the table of the national framework referred to in the second subparagraph of Article 6(3) of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013, the approval of the programme amendment shall constitute approval of the corresponding revision of that table.
Article 5
Amendment of national frameworks
1. Article 30 of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013, Article 11 of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 and Article 4(1)(b) and (c) of this Regulation shall apply mutatis mutandis to amendments of national frameworks.
2. Member States that have opted for the submission of national frameworks containing the table referred to in the second subparagraph of Article 6(3) of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 may submit amendments of the national framework concerning that table to the Commission taking into account the degree of implementation of their various programmes.
3. The Commission, after approving the amendments referred to in paragraph 2, shall adapt the financing plans referred to in Article 8(1)(h) of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 of the programmes concerned to the revised table, provided that:
(a)
the total EAFRD contribution per programme for the entire programming period is not altered;
(b)
the total EAFRD allocation to the Member State concerned is not altered;
(c)
the annual breakdowns of the programme for the years preceding the year of the revision are not altered;
(d)
the annual EAFRD allocation to the Member State concerned is respected;
(e)
the total EAFRD funding for environmental and climate related measures as set out in Article 59(6) of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 is respected.
4. Except in cases of emergency measures due to natural disasters or catastrophic events formally recognized by the competent national public authority, changes to the legal framework, or changes resulting from the performance review referred to in Article 21 of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013, requests for amendment of the national framework referred to in paragraph 2 may be submitted only once per calendar year before 1 April. By way of derogation from the second subparagraph of Article 4(2), changes in programmes that result from such revision may be done in addition to a single amendment proposal submitted for the same year.
5. The implementing act approving the amendment shall be adopted in due time for allowing to amend the respective budget commitments before the end of the year in which the revision was submitted.
Article 6
Knowledge transfer and information actions
1. Member States may provide for the possibility to cover the expenditure relating to the costs for travel, accommodation and per diem expenses of participants in knowledge transfer and information actions referred to in Article 14 of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 as well as related costs for the replacement of farmers through a system of vouchers or another system of equivalent effect.
2. In relation to the systems referred to in paragraph 1 Member States shall provide:
(a)
that the period of validity of the voucher or equivalent may not exceed one year;
(b)
rules for obtaining the vouchers or equivalent, in particular that they shall be linked to a specific action;
(c)
the definition of specific conditions under which vouchers can be reimbursed to the training or other knowledge transfer and information action provider.
Article 7
Selection of authorities or bodies offering advisory services
The calls for tenders referred to in Article 15(3) of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 shall follow the applicable Union and national public procurement rules. They shall give due consideration to the degree of attainment by the applicants of the qualifications referred to in that Article.
Article 8
Business plans
1. For the purposes of Article 19(5) of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013, Member States shall assess the progress of the business plans referred to in Article 19(4) of that Regulation, in case of support under Article 19(1)(a)(i) and (ii) of that Regulation, in terms of the proper implementation of the actions referred to in Article 5(1) of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 807/2014 (3).
2. In the case of support under Article 19(1)(a)(i) of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013, where the business plan refers to the use of other rural development measures under that Regulation, Member States may provide that the approval of the application for support also gives access to support under those measures. Where a Member State makes use of that possibility it shall provide that the application for support supplies the necessary information to assess eligibility under those measures.
Article 9
Conversion of units
1. Where commitments under Articles 28, 29 and 34 of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 are expressed in units other than those set out in Annex II to that Regulation, Member States may calculate payments on the basis of those other units. In such case, the Member States shall ensure that the maximum amounts per year eligible for EAFRD support set out in that Annex are complied with.
2. Except for payments for commitments for the rearing of local breeds in danger of being lost to farming referred to in Article 28(10)(b) of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013, payments under Articles 28, 29 and 34 of that Regulation cannot be granted per livestock unit.
The conversion rates of the various categories of animals to livestock units are set out in Annex II.
Article 10
Standard assumption of additional costs and income foregone
1. Member States may fix the amount of the payments for the measures or types of operations referred to in Articles 28 to 31 and Articles 33 and 34 of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 on the basis of standard assumptions of additional costs and income foregone.
2. Member States shall ensure that the calculations and the corresponding payments referred to in paragraph 1:
(a)
contain only elements that are verifiable;
(b)
are based on figures established by appropriate expertise;
(c)
indicate clearly the source of the figures used;
(d)
are differentiated to take account of regional or local site conditions and actual land use, where applicable;
(e)
do not contain elements linked to investment costs.
Article 11
Combination of commitments and combination of measures
1. Various agri-environment-climate commitments under Article 28 of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013, organic farming commitments under Article 29 of that Regulation, animal welfare commitments under Article 33 of that Regulation and forest-environmental and climate commitments under Article 34 of that Regulation may be combined provided that they are complementary and compatible. Member States shall attach the list of allowed combinations to their rural development programmes.
2. Where measures or different commitments under the same or different measures referred to in paragraph 1 are combined, in determining the level of support Member States shall take into account the specific income foregone and additional costs resulting from the combination.
3. Where an operation falls under two or more measures or under two or more different types of operations, Member States may attribute the expenditure to the dominant measure or type of operation. The specific contribution rate of that dominant measure or type of operation shall apply.
Article 12
National rural network
1. Member States shall provide for the establishment and operation of the national rural network referred to in Article 54 of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 and the start of its action plan at the latest 12 months after the approval by the Commission of the rural development programme or the specific programme for the establishment and operation of the national rural network, as applicable.
2. The structure needed for running the national rural network shall be established either within the national or regional competent authorities or externally, by selection through tendering procedures or as a combination of both. That structure must be able to perform at least the activities referred to in Article 54(3)(b) of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013.
3. Where a Member State has opted for a specific programme for the establishment and operation of the national rural network, that programme shall include the elements referred to in Part 3 of Annex I to this Regulation.
Article 13
Information and publicity
1. The Managing Authority shall submit an information and publicity strategy as well as any amendments thereof to the Monitoring Committee for information. The strategy shall be submitted no later than six months after the adoption of the rural development programme. The Managing Authority shall inform the Monitoring Committee at least once a year on the progress in the implementation of the information and publicity strategy and on its analysis of the results as well as on the planned information and publicity to be carried out in the following year.
2. Detailed rules on the responsibilities of the Managing Authority and the beneficiaries concerning information and publicity are laid down in Annex III.
Article 14
Monitoring and evaluation system
1. The common monitoring and evaluation system referred to in Article 67 of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 includes the following elements:
(a)
an intervention logic showing the interactions between priorities, focus areas and measures;
(b)
a set of common context, result and output indicators, including indicators to be used for the establishment of quantified targets in relation to rural development focus areas and a set of pre-defined indicators for the performance review;
(c)
common evaluation questions, as set out in Annex V;
(d)
data collection, storage and transmission;
(e)
regular reporting on monitoring and evaluation activities;
(f)
the evaluation plan;
(g)
the ex ante and ex post evaluations and all other evaluation activities linked to the rural development programme, including those required to fulfil the increased requirements of the 2017 and 2019 annual implementation reports referred to in Article 50(4) and (5) of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 and Article 75(3) and (4) of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013;
(h)
support to enable all actors responsible for monitoring and evaluation to fulfil their obligations.
2. The common set of context, result and output indicators for rural development policy is set out in Annex IV. That Annex also identifies the indicators which are to be used for the establishment of quantified targets in relation to rural development focus areas. For the purpose of the setting of the performance framework milestones and targets referred to in point 2 of Annex II to Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013, the Member State shall either use the pre-defined performance framework indicators set out in point 5 of Annex IV to this Regulation or replace and/or complete these indicators by other relevant output indicators defined in the rural development programme.
3. The technical support documents set out in Annex VI shall form part of the monitoring and evaluation system.
4. For types of operations where a potential contribution to focus areas referred to in Article 5, first paragraph, point (2)(a), Article 5, first paragraph, points (5)(a) to (d), and Article 5, first paragraph, point(6)(a) of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 is identified in the table referred to in point 11(c) of Part 1 of Annex I to this Regulation, the electronic record of the operations referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 shall include flag(s) to identify those cases where the operation has a component contributing to one or more of those focus areas.
Article 15
Annual implementation report
The presentation of the annual implementation report referred to in Article 75 of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 is set out in Annex VII to this Regulation.
Article 16
Evaluation Plan
The minimum requirements for the evaluation plan referred to in Article 56(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 are set out in point 9 of Part 1 of Annex I to this Regulation.
Article 17
Entry into force
This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 17 July 2014.