COMMISSION DELEGATED REGULATION (EU) 2021/399

of 19 January 2021

amending Annex I to Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the amounts of Union support for rural development in the year 2021

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 58(7) thereof,

Whereas:

(1) In accordance with Article 11(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (2), Member States are to reduce the amount of direct payments to be granted to a farmer for a given calendar year, pursuant to Chapter 1 of Title III of that Regulation, by at least 5 % for the part of the amount exceeding EUR 150 000. In accordance with Article 7(2) of that Regulation, the estimated product of that reduction is to be made available as additional support for measures under the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD).

(2) In accordance with the third subparagraph of Article 11(6) of Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013, the Member States notified the Commission by 31 December 2019 of their decision with regard to the reduction of the amount of direct payments and the resulting estimated product of reduction for calendar year 2020. The notifications of Bulgaria, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Latvia, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom indicated an estimated product of reduction bigger than zero.

(3) In accordance with the sixth subparagraph of Article 14(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Greece, France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom notified the Commission by 31 December 2019 of their decision to make available as additional support under the EAFRD in financial year 2021 a certain percentage of their annual national ceiling for direct payments for calendar year 2020.

(4) In accordance with the sixth subparagraph of Article 14(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013, Croatia, Hungary, Malta and Poland notified the Commission by 8 February 2020 of their decision to make available as direct payments for calendar year 2020 a certain amount of the support to be financed under the EAFRD in financial year 2021.

(5) On the basis of those notifications, Annexes II and III to Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013 were amended by Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/756 (3).

(6) However, in light of the exceptional circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Luxembourg and Portugal subsequently modified their initial transfer request. As a result, Annexes II and III to Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013 were amended again by Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/1314 (4).

(7) It is therefore necessary to adapt the allocations for rural development laid down in Annex I to Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 for the year 2021.

(8) In accordance with the second subparagraph of Article 137(1) of the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community (Withdrawal Agreement), Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013 as applicable in the year 2020 does not apply in the United Kingdom for claim year 2020. Therefore, Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/756 did not set new ceilings for the year 2020 in respect of the United Kingdom. As the ceilings for direct payments for calendar year 2020 are to be taken into account for the support financed under the EAFRD in financial year 2021, and as the transition period provided for in the Withdrawal Agreement ends on 31 December 2020, there is no need to set ceilings for financial year 2021 in respect of the United Kingdom.

(9) Annex I to Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 should therefore be amended accordingly.

(10) As the amendments made by this Regulation affect the application of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 for the year 2021, this Regulation should enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union and should apply from 1 January 2021,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1 Part Two of Annex I to Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 is replaced by the text in the Annex to this Regulation.

Article 2 This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. It shall apply from 1 January 2021.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. Done at Brussels, 19 January 2021. For the Commission The President Ursula VON DER LEYEN

(1) OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 487.

(2) Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 establishing rules for direct payments to farmers under support schemes within the framework of the common agricultural policy and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 637/2008 and Council Regulation (EC) No 73/2009 (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 608).

(3) Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/756 of 1 April 2020 amending Annexes II and III to Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 179, 9.6.2020, p. 1).

(4) Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/1314 of 10 July 2020 amending Annexes II and III to Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the national and net ceilings for direct payments for certain Member States for calendar year 2020 (OJ L 307, 22.9.2020, p. 1).