COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Accompanying the document REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL 7th FINANCIAL REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT and the COUNCIL on the EUROPEAN AGRICULTURAL FUND FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT (EAFRD) 2013 FINANCIAL YEAR
Date: 2014-11-19
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EAFRD, agricultural expenditure, commitment of expenditure, financial year, payment appropriation, rural development













EUR-Lex - 52014SC0340 - EN











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52014SC0340

COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Accompanying the document REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL 7th FINANCIAL REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT and the COUNCIL on the EUROPEAN AGRICULTURAL FUND FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT (EAFRD) 2013 FINANCIAL YEAR /* SWD/2014/0340 final */









Table of contents
1............ Budget
procedure. 3
1.1......... Financial
framework. 3
1.2......... Draft
Budget (DB) 2013. 3
1.3......... The
adoption of the 2013 Budget 4
1.4......... The
adoption of the Amending Budgets. 4
2............ Management
of appropriations. 5
2.1......... Management
of Commitment appropriations. 5
2.1.1...... EAFRD
operational programmes. 5
2.1.2...... Technical
assistance. 5
2.2......... Management
of payment appropriations. 5
2.2.1...... EAFRD
operational programmes. 5
2.2.2...... Technical
assistance. 6
3............ Implementation
of the 2013 EAFRD budget. 6
3.1......... Introduction. 6
3.2......... Implementation
of commitment appropriations. 6
3.2.1...... EAFRD
operational programmes. 6
3.2.2...... Technical assistance. 7
3.3......... Implementation
of payment appropriations. 8
3.3.1...... EAFRD
operational programmes. 8
3.3.2...... Technical
assistance. 12
3.4......... Analysis
of expenditure declared by axis and by measure. 12
3.5......... Implementation
fo EAFRD programmes. 14
4............ Control
Measures. 16
4.1......... Introduction. 16
4.2......... Integrated
Administration and Control System (IACS) 17
5............ Clearance
of accounts. 17
5.1......... Financial
clearance. 17
5.1.1...... Introduction. 17
5.1.2...... Financial
clearance for financial year 2013. 18
5.1.3...... Financial
clearance for financial year 2012. 18
5.1.4...... Financial
clearance for financial year 2011. 18
5.1.5...... Financial
clearance for financial year 2010. 19
5.1.6...... Financial
clearance for financial year 2009 and before. 19
5.2......... Conformity
clearance – audits and decisions adopted in 2013. 19
5.2.1...... Introduction. 19
5.2.2...... Conformity
clearance – audits and decisions adopted in 2013. 20
5.3......... Recoveries. 20
5.4......... Appeals
brought before the Court of Justice against clearance decisions. 21
6............ Basic
rules governing the EAFRD and amendments made in 2013. 22
6.1......... General 22
6.2......... Recent
modifications. 22
6.3......... Declarations. 23
6.4......... Checks. 23
6.5......... Clearance
of accounts. 24
1.           Budget procedure
1.1.        Financial
framework 
CAP expenditure
is funded within the financial framework 2007-2013 as agreed in the
Inter-institutional Agreement between the European Parliament and the Council
in May 2006, amended to take into account the Galileo-programme in 2007, the
reprogramming of rural development in 2008 and the European Economic Recovery
Package (EERP) in 2009. CAP expenditure is part of Heading 2: Preservation and
management of natural resources. A specific sub-ceiling has been decided for market
related expenditure and direct aids within this heading.
To take account
of the transfer of amounts to rural development due to compulsory modulation
(including the increase from the CAP Health Check), to the reform of the
cotton, tobacco and wine sectors as well as to the voluntary modulation decided
for the UK, the expenditure ceiling for market measures and direct aids had to
be reduced accordingly.
There was no
change introduced into this general financial framework during 2013. The CAP
amounts included in heading 2 of the financial framework (2007-2013) are:
Table 1
 HEADING 2. || In million EUR; current prices 
 Preservation and Management of Natural resources || 2007 || 2008 || 2009 || 2010 || 2011 || 2012 || 2013 
 TOTAL a), b) || 55 143 || 59 193 || 56 333 || 59 955 || 59 888 || 60 810 || 61 289 
 of which : 
 - Rural development a), c), d) || 10 902 || 13 303 || 14 002 || 14 364 || 14 436 || 14 617 || 14 817 
 - Market related expenditure and direct aids, c) || 44 753 || 44 592 || 44 887 || 44 276 || 44 467 || 44 710 || 44 939 
   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   
 a) After reprogramming of rural development (EUR 1 469 Mio).   ||   ||   ||   ||   
 b) After transfer of EUR 1 600 million to Galileo in 2007 and of EUR 2 000 million to the European Economic Recovery Package in 2009 and financial needs for ITER 2011.   
 c) After transfer into Rural Development of the lower expected expenditure resulting from the reforms of the tobacco, cotton and wine CMOs and from the compulsory and voluntary modulation (UK), art 136 of regulation 73/2009 and reduction due to financing of the EERP (D 237/2010 EU).   
 d) Including the reinforcement of Rural Development by EUR 1 020 million included in the European Economic Recovery Package, of which EUR 600 million is financed in 2009 within heading 2 while, for 2010, EUR 420 million had been allocated to Rural Development on the basis of Commission Decision 2006/636/EC.   
1.2.        Draft
Budget (DB) 2013
The 2013 Draft
Budget (DB) was adopted by the Commission and proposed to the Budgetary
Authority on 15 April 2012.
The Draft Budget
for the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) under heading
2 of the Financial Framework 2007-2013 totalled 
EUR 14 803 million in commitment appropriations and EUR 12 744
million in payment appropriations.
Table 2
 Budget Item || Commitment appropriations (in EUR) || Payment appropriations (in EUR) 
 05.040501 (Rural dev. programmes) || 14 788 920 797 || 12 735 000 000 
 05.040502 (Technical assistance) || 14 535 000 || 8 563 000 
The Council
adopted its position on the 2013 Draft Budget on 25 July 2012. Payment
appropriations for EAFRD programmes were reduced by EUR 100 million as compared
to the Commission's DB while commitments remained unchanged. The European
Parliament adopted its position on 23 October 2012 whereby it restored the
Commission's proposal by increasing payment appropriations by EUR 100 million.
The Conciliation procedure did not result in an agreement between the two
institutions. Therefore the Commission was requested to submit a new Draft
Budget that was adopted on 23 November 2012.
1.3.        The
adoption of the 2013 Budget
The new Draft
Budget was approved by the Parliament in a vote on 12 December 2012. The voted
budget for the EAFRD in chapter 05 04  amounted to EUR 14 803 million in
commitment appropriations and EUR 12 497 million in payment appropriations.
Table
3
 Budget Item || Commitment appropriations (in EUR) || Payment appropriations (in EUR) 
 05.040501 (Rural dev. programmes) || 14 788 920 797 || 12 488 675 553 
 05.040502 (Technical assistance) || 14 535 000 || 8 463 833 
1.4.        The adoption of the Amending Budgets
In March 2013
the Commission adopted the Draft Amending Budget No 2 due to a clearly
identified lack of available payment appropriations. The budgetary authority
approved only part of the amounts requested for EAFRD 2007-2013 programmes in
the Amending Budget No 2 on 11 September 2013. Additional payment appropriations
were requested in Draft Amending Budget No 8, adopted by the Commission on 25
September 2013. In this amending budget part of the total amount requested was
channelled towards the closure of the older programmes. The budgetary authority
approved it on 19 November 2013. The total amount of the two amending budgets
made available for EAFRD 2007-2013 programmes amounted to EUR 338 million.
2.           Management of
appropriations
2.1.        Management
of Commitment appropriations
2.1.1.     EAFRD
operational programmes
In 2013 the
available commitment appropriations for EAFRD programmes amounted in total to
EUR 14 789 million. This amount was entirely committed during the year.
Table
4
 Management of commitment appropriations in 2013 – EAFRD || Budget Item 05.040501 (amounts in EUR) 
 Appropriations at the beginning of 2013 || 14 788 920  797 
 Carryover from 2012 || - 
 Appropriations available in 2013 || 14 788 920 797 
 Appropriations used in 2013 || 14 788 920 797 
2.1.2.     Technical assistance
Article 69(2) of
Council regulation (EC) No 1698/2005 stipulates that 0.25% of the resources for
Community support to rural development shall be devoted to technical assistance
for the Commission. In the 2013 budget, the initial amount available for this
purpose was EUR 14.5 million. Of this, EUR 4.5 million were redeployed to other
items of the budget. At the end of 2013, the total amount committed was 
EUR 7.6 million. 
2.2.        Management
of payment appropriations
2.2.1.     EAFRD
operational programmes
In 2013 the
payment appropriations of the voted budget amounted to 
EUR 12 489 million. In addition, the assigned revenue (recoveries) collected
during the year amounted to EUR 212.2 million. The monitoring of the
implementation of the budget and the analysis of the expenditure forecasts
submitted by Member States in 2013 revealed an additional need of EUR 338
million in payment appropriations. This amount was made available with the
Amending Budgets No 2 and No 8. 
The total amount
paid to Member States for EAFRD programmes in 2013 reached EUR 12 951 million,
thus ensuring the full consumption of the voted payment appropriations
available in the year. EUR 80 million of assigned revenue were carried over to
2014.
Table
5
 Management of payment appropriations in 2013 – EAFRD || Budget Item 05.040501 (amounts in EUR) 
 Appropriations at the beginning of 2012 || 12 488 675 553 
 Transfer to older programmes || -7 215 906 
 Amending budget No. 2 || 299 147 246 
 Amending budget No. 8 || 39 101 515 
 Recoveries (assigned revenue) || 212 191 255 
 Appropriations available in 2013 || 13 031 899 663 
 Appropriations used in 2013 || 12 951 405 528 
2.2.2.     Technical
assistance
In the 2013
budget, the amount of payment appropriations was EUR 8.5 million. At the end of
the year, the total amount of payments was EUR 6.6 million while EUR 1.8
million were redeployed to other items of the budget, leaving only a minor
amount unused.
3.           Implementation of the 2013 EAFRD budget
3.1.        Introduction
The last
commitments of the programming period 2007-2013 were made in financial year
2013. As regards payments, the pace of the implementation of rural development
programmes recorded in 2013 continued at high level even though there is a
substantial variability as regards the implementation levels of the different
programmes. For some of them the continued impact of the economic and financial
crisis hindered the implementation process. Nonetheless, it has to be noted
that the 2013 execution was almost as high as the 2012 execution, the highest
so far for the rural development programmes in this programming period.
3.2.        Implementation
of commitment appropriations
3.2.1.     EAFRD
operational programmes
Table 6 shows
the amounts committed per Member State in 2013 and the allocation established
by Commission decision 2006/636/EC (modification of April 2010 still in force
in 2013).
In 2013, the
commitment appropriations available for EAFRD programmes, EUR 14 789 million,
coincide with the annual allocation as there was no carryover from the previous
year. All the available appropriations were committed (EUR 14 789 million).
Table
6
 Commission Decision 2006/636/EC (version in force) vs. the amounts committed end of 2013: 
 Budget item: 05.040501 ||   || (in EUR) 
 MS || Commission Decision 2006/636/EC – EU funds 2013 || Amounts carried over for commitment in 2013 || Amounts committed in the budget year 2013 
   || (a) || (b) || (c=a+b) 
 AT || 532 956 948 || - || 532 956 948 
 BE || 77 776 632 || - || 77 776 632 
 BG || 395 699 781 || - || 395 699 781 
 CY || 21 037 942 || - || 21 037 942 
 CZ || 424 262 250 || - || 424 262 250 
 DE || 1 429 714 950 || - || 1 429 714 950 
 DK || 106 488 551 || - || 106 488 551 
 EE || 113 302 602 || - || 113 302 602 
 ES || 1 284 264 263 || - || 1 284 264 263 
 FI || 288 617 053 || - || 288 617 053 
 FR || 1 278 994 332 || - || 1 278 994 332 
 GR || 671 747 957 || - || 671 747 957 
 HU || 584 609 743 || - || 584 609 743 
 IE || 351 503 589 || - || 351 503 589 
 IT || 1 441 205 996 || - || 1 441 205 996 
 LT || 253 898 173 || - || 253 898 173 
 LU || 13 212 084 || - || 13 212 084 
 LV || 151 198 432 || - || 151 198 432 
 MT || 10 663 325 || - || 10 663 325 
 NL || 102 750 233 || - || 102 750 233 
 PL || 1 851 146 247 || - || 1 851 146 247 
 PT || 589 872 156 || - || 589 872 156 
 RO || 1 356 173 250 || - || 1 356 173 250 
 SE || 275 759 282 || - || 275 759 282 
 SI || 113 031 296 || - || 113 031 296 
 SK || 319 809 578 || - || 319 809 578 
 UK || 749 224 152 || - || 749 224 152 
 Total || 14 788 920 797 || - || 14 788 920 797 
3.2.2.     Technical
assistance
Table 7 shows
the commitment appropriations for technical assistance consumed in 2013. The
most important part relates to European Network for Rural Development.
Table
7
 Technical assistance – Implementation of commitment appropriations 
 Budget Item: 05.040502 ||  (in EUR) 
 Description ||  Amount committed 
 Contact point of the European Network for rural Development (ENRD) || 3 680 715 
 Expert groups / Coordination committee / Seminars (ENRD) || 993 109 
 Information technology || 2 234 949 
 Protection of symbols || 120 000 
 Experts committee on the evaluation of rural development programmes || 200 000 
 Publications || 332 724 
 Total || 7 561 497 
3.3.        Implementation
of payment appropriations
3.3.1.     EAFRD
operational programmes
Almost all the
payments appropriations made available in the voted and in the amending budgets
2013, increased with an assigned revenue from recoveries by EUR 212.2 million,
were used. Only EUR 80 million of assigned revenue were carried over to 2014.
Therefore at the end of 2013, the total amount paid for EAFRD programmes was
EUR 12 951 million. Payments made in 2013 were only slightly below the payments
in 2012 (-1.3%).
The table below
shows the breakdown of payments made in 2013 by declaration period :
Table
8
 Payments 2013 – EAFRD operational programmes million EUR 
 Reimbursement of payment claims Q2 2012 || 1.36 
 Reimbursement of payment claims Q3 2012 || 101.41 
 Reimbursement of payment claims Q4 2012 || 4 660.86 
 Reimbursement of payment claims Q1 2013 || 2 816.76 
 Reimbursement of payment claims Q2 2013 || 2 034.25 
 Reimbursement of payment claims Q3 2013 || 3 336.77 
 Total 2013 || 12 951.41 
The complete
reimbursement of the 3rd quarter 2013 declarations of expenditure
for some EAFRD programmes was not possible as total declared payments reached
95% of commitments. The amount involved was EUR 108.1 million. 
The
monthly consumption of payment appropriations during the year (January to
December 2013) is represented in the graph below. The rhythm of consumption is
linked to the calendar for sending the four payment declarations (31 January,
30 April, 31 July and 10 November for the payment claims corresponding respectively
to Q4 2012, Q1 2013, Q2 2013 and Q3 2013) in accordance with article 16(2) of
Regulation (EC) No 883/2006.
The
graph shows that the usual rhytm of monthly payments was influenced by the lack
of cash available to make effective payments. It imposed a delay on some
reimbursements in the first part of 2013 (January to June) and at the end of
the year.
Graph 1
The
breakdown per Member State and per
declaration period of the amounts paid by the Commission in budget year 2013 is
shown in table 9.
Table 9
 Payments effectively made between 01/01/2013 and 31/12/2013 per declaration of expenditure || (in EUR) 
 MS || Q2 2012 || Q3 2012 || Q4 2012 || Q1 2013 || Q2 2013 || Q3 2013 || Grand Total 
 AT ||   || 836 515 || 331 814 190 || 127 376 837 || 39 750 259 || 27 148 330 || 526 926 131 
 BE || 1 356 815 || 12 522 568 || 7 950 799 || 7 798 596 || 18 797 420 || 4 294 812 || 52 721 009 
 BG ||   || 1 669 350 || 283 363 404 || 23 677 587 || 36 395 710 || 51 535 641 || 396 641 691 
 CY ||   || 119 426 || 8 399 421 || 371 423 || 10 335 087 || 3 807 860 || 23 033 218 
 CZ ||   || 1 419 545 || 78 076 553 || 190 292 418 || 69 636 922 || 33 650 485 || 373 075 923 
 DE ||   || 15 009 317 || 553 463 531 || 166 761 462 || 125 692 227 || 406 432 805 || 1 267 359 343 
 DK ||   || 544 800 || 20 819 553 || 11 508 507 || 7 885 609 || 21 761 441 || 62 519 910 
 EE ||   || 690 325 || 22 396 132 || 58 167 979 || 23 229 702 || 22 560 634 || 127 044 772 
 ES ||   || 5 250 246 || 436 330 470 || 156 449 969 || 172 123 598 || 268 163 498 || 1 038 317 781 
 FI ||   || 6 178 408 || 94 976 540 || 23 490 311 || 26 269 035 || 189 316 579 || 340 230 873 
 FR ||   || 11 095 350 || 379 275 505 || 156 574 508 || 109 911 877 || 341 945 860 || 998 803 101 
 GR ||   ||   || 34 521 995 || 18 579 197 || 23 489 616 || 149 202 302 || 225 793 111 
 HU ||   || 2 738 423 || 155 530 753 || 141 527 471 || 96 526 426 || 94 911 768 || 491 234 841 
 IE ||   ||   || 138 650 958 || 39 835 609 || 33 102 547 || 45 383 475 || 256 972 589 
 IT ||   || 10 817 054 || 615 765 572 || 177 179 662 || 201 988 864 || 269 382 496 || 1 275 133 647 
 LT ||   || 1 855 015 || 56 882 872 || 91 036 977 || 60 142 448 || 43 010 510 || 252 927 822 
 LU ||   || 18 613 || 3 228 406 || 5 102 824 || 772 913 || 972 148 || 10 094 904 
 LV ||   || 1 585 282 || 71 590 110 || 44 718 772 || 30 626 181 || 35 512 482 || 184 032 828 
 MT ||   || 59 570 || 4 824 853 || 1 069 305 || 1 789 859 || 1 938 604 || 9 682 192 
 NL ||   || 898 205 || 26 105 015 || 13 985 390 || 16 642 169 || 41 854 361 || 99 485 140 
 PL ||   || 14 777 345 || 525 534 266 || 592 656 005 || 374 453 575 || 313 551 349 || 1 820 972 541 
 PT ||   ||   || 178 295 471 || 88 154 509 || 147 628 609 || 242 371 875 || 656 450 463 
 RO ||   ||   || 211 380 555 || 402 188 251 || 123 832 849 || 454 235 474 || 1 191 637 130 
 SE ||   || 4 894 846 || 85 504 587 || 38 310 454 || 25 814 245 || 28 347 423 || 182 871 555 
 SI ||   || 544 448 || 52 726 850 || 10 743 015 || 44 473 003 || 18 147 799 || 126 635 115 
 SK ||   || 1 956 562 || 100 475 797 || 32 067 414 || 32 127 021 || 30 682 158 || 197 308 952 
 UK ||   || 5 932 692 || 182 971 651 || 197 138 808 || 180 808 724 || 196 647 072 || 763 498 948 
 Total || 1 356 815 || 101 413 906 || 4 660 855 810 || 2 816 763 260 || 2 034 246 495 || 3 336 769 243 || 12 951 405 528 
The total amount
paid in 2013 EUR 12 951 million relates to reimbursements only. No advances
were paid in 2013.
Table 10
compares, for each Member State, the EAFRD payments made in 2013 with the
payments in 2012. The total payments decreased by 1.3% (EUR 12.95 billion vs.
13.12 billion).
Table
10
 Payments made to Member States - Comparison 2013 vs 2012 ||   ||   || (in EUR) ||   
 MS || 2012 || 2013 || Difference 2013 vs. 2012 
 Interim payments || Prefinancing || Total || Interim payments || Prefinancing || Total || (in EUR) || (in %) 
 AT || 535 931 653 || - || 535 931 653 || 526 926 131 || - || 526 926 131 || -9 005 523 || -1,68% 
 BE || 68 498 081 || - || 68 498 081 || 52 721 009 || - || 52 721 009 || -15 777 072 || -23,03% 
 BG || 306 792 409 || - || 306 792 409 || 396 641 691 || - || 396 641 691 || 89 849 282 || 29,29% 
 CY || 19 857 677 || - || 19 857 677 || 23 033 218 || - || 23 033 218 || 3 175 541 || 15,99% 
 CZ || 418 986 335 || - || 418 986 335 || 373 075 923 || - || 373 075 923 || -45 910 412 || -10,96% 
 DE || 1 311 026 530 || - || 1 311 026 530 || 1 267 359 343 || - || 1 267 359 343 || -43 667 188 || -3,33% 
 DK || 62 641 099 || - || 62 641 099 || 62 519 910 || - || 62 519 910 || -121 189 || -0,19% 
 EE || 129 243 153 || - || 129 243 153 || 127 044 772 || - || 127 044 772 || -2 198 381 || -1,70% 
 ES || 821 119 814 || - || 821 119 814 || 1 038 317 781 || - || 1 038 317 781 || 217 197 967 || 26,45% 
 FI || 302 322 832 || - || 302 322 832 || 340 230 873 || - || 340 230 873 || 37 908 041 || 12,54% 
 FR || 933 171 846 || - || 933 171 846 || 998 803 101 || - || 998 803 101 || 65 631 255 || 7,03% 
 GR || 330 814 548 || - || 330 814 548 || 225 793 111 || - || 225 793 111 || -105 021 437 || -31,75% 
 HU || 441 382 786 || - || 441 382 786 || 491 234 841 || - || 491 234 841 || 49 852 055 || 11,29% 
 IE || 325 682 973 || - || 325 682 973 || 256 972 589 || - || 256 972 589 || -68 710 384 || -21,10% 
 IT || 1 307 832 848 || - || 1 307 832 848 || 1 275 133 647 || - || 1 275 133 647 || -32 699 201 || -2,50% 
 LT || 235 267 314 || - || 235 267 314 || 252 927 822 || - || 252 927 822 || 17 660 509 || 7,51% 
 LU || 10 362 740 || - || 10 362 740 || 10 094 904 || - || 10 094 904 || -267 836 || -2,58% 
 LV || 213 228 656 || - || 213 228 656 || 184 032 828 || - || 184 032 828 || -29 195 829 || -13,69% 
 MT || 8 942 564 || - || 8 942 564 || 9 682 192 || - || 9 682 192 || 739 628 || 8,27% 
 NL || 102 291 084 || - || 102 291 084 || 99 485 140 || - || 99 485 140 || -2 805 944 || -2,74% 
 PL || 2 027 038 643 || - || 2 027 038 643 || 1 820 972 541 || - || 1 820 972 541 || -206 066 103 || -10,17% 
 PT || 679 279 269 || - || 679 279 269 || 656 450 463 || - || 656 450 463 || -22 828 806 || -3,36% 
 RO || 1 101 919 904 || - || 1 101 919 904 || 1 191 637 130 || - || 1 191 637 130 || 89 717 226 || 8,14% 
 SE || 293 194 504 || - || 293 194 504 || 182 871 555 || - || 182 871 555 || -110 322 949 || -37,63% 
 SI || 122 065 747 || - || 122 065 747 || 126 635 115 || - || 126 635 115 || 4 569 367 || 3,74% 
 SK || 272 943 075 || - || 272 943 075 || 197 308 952 || - || 197 308 952 || -75 634 124 || -27,71% 
 UK || 734 754 138 || - || 734 754 138 || 763 498 948 || - || 763 498 948 || 28 744 810 || 3,91% 
 Total || 13 116 592 223 || - || 13 116 592 223 || 12 951 405 528 || - || 12 951 405 528 || -165 186 695 || -1,26% 
3.3.2.     Technical
assistance
In the 2013
budget the amount for payment appropriations was EUR 6.6 million. Table 11
hereafter presents the payments grouped by major directions. The most important
part is related to European Network for Rural Development.
Table
11 
 Technical assistance – Implementation of payment appropriations 
 Budget Item: 05.040502 || (in EUR) 
 Description || Amount paid 
 Contact point of the European Network for Rural Development (ENRD) || 4 587 788 
 Expert  groups / Coordination committee / Seminars (ENRD) || 610 428 
 Information technology || 983 786 
 Experts committee on the evaluation of rural development programmes || 88 323 
 Protection of symbols || 108 000 
 Publications || 177 499 
 Total || 6 555 824 
3.4.        Analysis
of expenditure declared by axis and by measure
Table 12 shows
the payment claims declared by Member state and by axis/measure for rural
development in 2013 (Q4 2012 to Q3 2013), the cumulative declared expenditure
from 2007 to 2013 (Q4 2006 to Q3 2013) and also the financial plans of EAFRD
programmes (2007-2013; EU27).
In 2013, the
expenditure continues to be concentrated in axis 2 (47.9%), followed by axis 1
with 29.8%, axis 3 with 14.2% and axis 4 with 6.6%. This repartition of
expenditure still diverges somewhat from the repartition in the financial plans
for the 2007-2013 programming period (32.7%, 45.5%, 13.5% and 6.3% for axis 1 to
4 respectively). 
Axis 2 measures
mainly involve annual payments (e.g. agro-environmental measures) whilst Axis
1, 3 and, to a lesser extent, Axis 4 mainly relate to multi-annual measures
that require longer proceedings for their approval and implementation (e.g.
investment projects). 
Table
12
 EAFRD declared expenditure 2013 (Q4 2012-Q3 2013) & Total cumulative expenditure (Q4 2006 to Q3 2013) 
 compared with Financial Plans* 
   || Declared expenditure 2013 (Q4 2012 to Q3 2013) || Cumulative declared expenditure (Q4 2006 to Q3 2013) || Financial Plans 2007-2013 
 EAFRD Axis / Measure ||  (million EUR) || (%) ||  (million EUR) || (%) ||  (million EUR) || (%) 
 111 Vocational training and information actions || 132,4 || 1,0% || 518,6 || 0,8% || 947,0 || 1,0% 
 112 Setting up of young farmers || 392,0 || 3,0% || 2096,2 || 3,2% || 2 841,2 || 3,0% 
 113 Early retirement || 349,3 || 2,7% || 2051,9 || 3,1% || 2 491,0 || 2,6% 
 114 Use of advisory services || 26,7 || 0,2% || 89,3 || 0,1% || 198,0 || 0,2% 
 115 Setting up of management, relief and .... || 5,7 || 0,0% || 24,8 || 0,0% || 50,3 || 0,1% 
 121 Modernisation of agricultural holdings || 1470,1 || 11,3% || 8203,3 || 12,5% || 11 636,0 || 12,1% 
 122 Improvement of the economic value of forest || 44,5 || 0,3% || 211,2 || 0,3% || 369,4 || 0,4% 
 123 Adding value to agricultural and forestry... || 576,2 || 4,4% || 2991,0 || 4,5% || 5 540,0 || 5,8% 
 124 Cooperation for development of new products || 37,5 || 0,3% || 113,3 || 0,2% || 295,4 || 0,3% 
 125 Infrastructure related to the development … || 591,3 || 4,5% || 2338,4 || 3,6% || 4 786,7 || 5,0% 
 126 Restoring agricultural production potential || 78,3 || 0,6% || 348,6 || 0,5% || 654,1 || 0,7% 
 131 Meeting standards based on Community... || 3,9 || 0,0% || 59,5 || 0,1% || 69,1 || 0,1% 
 132 Participation of farmers in food quality… || 16,3 || 0,1% || 65,4 || 0,1% || 131,1 || 0,1% 
 133 Information and promotion activities || 20,1 || 0,2% || 66,8 || 0,1% || 167,3 || 0,2% 
 141 Semi-subsistence farming || 73,7 || 0,6% || 609,7 || 0,9% || 807,3 || 0,8% 
 142 Producer groups || 34,7 || 0,3% || 153,0 || 0,2% || 240,7 || 0,3% 
 143 Direct Payment (BG + RO) || 1,3 || 0,0% || 7,1 || 0,0% || 15,8 || 0,0% 
 144 Holdings undergoing restructuring || 14,2 || 0,1% || 146,9 || 0,2% || 200,4 || 0,2% 
 Axis 1 || 3 868,3 || 29,8% || 20 095,0 || 30,5% || 31 440,6 || 32,7% 
 211 Natural handicap payments to farmers in ... || 1079,7 || 8,3% || 6 265,6 || 9,5% || 6 725,5 || 7,0% 
 212 Payments to farmers in areas with handicaps... || 993,7 || 7,6% || 6 357,2 || 9,7% || 7 500,9 || 7,8% 
 213 Natura 2000 payments and payments linked .. || 40,8 || 0,3% || 165,9 || 0,3% || 583,2 || 0,6% 
 214 Agri-environment payments || 3338,0 || 25,7% || 18 599,1 || 28,2% || 22 929,9 || 23,9% 
 215 Animal welfare payments || 95,7 || 0,7% || 399,0 || 0,6% || 885,1 || 0,9% 
 216 Non-productive investments || 113,1 || 0,9% || 328,8 || 0,5% || 544,2 || 0,6% 
 221 First afforestation of agricultural land || 194,6 || 1,5% || 1 225,6 || 1,9% || 1 710,9 || 1,8% 
 222 First establishment of agroforestry systems... || 0,2 || 0,0% || 0,5 || 0,0% || 10,7 || 0,0% 
 223 First afforestation of non-agricultural land || 25,2 || 0,2% || 116,0 || 0,2% || 256,6 || 0,3% 
 224 Natura 2000 payments || 15,6 || 0,1% || 33,2 || 0,1% || 74,9 || 0,1% 
 225 Forest-environment payments || 11,4 || 0,1% || 40,9 || 0,1% || 134,4 || 0,1% 
 226 Restoring forestry potential and … || 199,1 || 1,5% || 962,2 || 1,5% || 1 622,1 || 1,7% 
 227 Non-productive investments || 120,1 || 0,9% || 380,4 || 0,6% || 772,6 || 0,8% 
 Axis 2 || 6 227,14 || 47,9% || 34 874,30 || 53,0% || 43 751,13 || 45,5% 
 311 Diversification into non-agricultural activities || 183,9 || 1,4% || 714,0 || 1,1% || 1 236,8 || 1,3% 
 312 Business creation and development || 249,0 || 1,9% || 881,3 || 1,3% || 2 046,0 || 2,1% 
 313 Encouragement of tourism activities || 140,7 || 1,1% || 482,8 || 0,7% || 1 227,0 || 1,3% 
 321 Basic services for the economy and rural … || 561,7 || 4,3% || 1963,2 || 3,0% || 3 649,8 || 3,8% 
 322 Village renewal and development || 503,1 || 3,9% || 2299,1 || 3,5% || 3 338,9 || 3,5% 
 323 Conservation and upgrading of the rural.... || 183,4 || 1,4% || 682,2 || 1,0% || 1 201,6 || 1,2% 
 331 Training and information || 15,5 || 0,1% || 58,6 || 0,1% || 112,7 || 0,1% 
 341 Skills acquisition, animation and implement... || 9,7 || 0,1% || 73,6 || 0,1% || 121,9 || 0,1% 
 Axis 3 || 1 847,15 || 14,2% || 7 154,7 || 10,9% || 12 934,5 || 13,5% 
 411 Implementing local development strategies... || 61,5 || 0,5% || 145,4 || 0,2% || 530,7 || 0,6% 
 412 Implementing local development strategies... || 10,5 || 0,1% || 21,3 || 0,0% || 152,7 || 0,2% 
 413 Implementing local development strategies.... || 624,0 || 4,8% || 1707,6 || 2,6% || 4143,7 || 4,3% 
 421 Implementing cooperation projects || 19,3 || 0,1% || 47,0 || 0,1% || 232,3 || 0,2% 
 431 Running the local action group, acquiring ... || 148,4 || 1,1% || 545,8 || 0,8% || 973,9 || 1,0% 
 Axis 4 || 863,6 || 6,6% || 2467,1 || 3,7% || 6 033,4 || 6,3% 
 511 Technical Assistance || 191,3 || 1,5% || 833,5 || 1,3% || 1533,2 || 1,6% 
 611 BG RO Direct Payments || -0,3 || 0,0% || 437,0 || 0,7% || 437,8 || 0,5% 
 Grand total || 12 997,1 || 100,0% || 65 861,7 || 100,0% || 96 130,7 || 100,0% 
*Member
States declare their expenditure quarterly. However for year n, Q4 declarations
are submitted in January of year n+1. Consequently, the corresponding
reimbursements by the Commission to the Member States in year n go from Q4 of
year n-1 until Q3 of year n.
3.5.        Implementation of EAFRD programmes
Graph 2 presents
the financial implementation rate of rural development programmes per Member State: payments from the beginning of the programming period to 2013, including Q4
2013 that is reimbursed in financial year 2014, compared with the 2007-2013
commitments according to the financial plan. As 2013 was the last year when
commitments were made, the implementation rate equals to the absorption rate
(payments made from the beginning of the programming period compared to the
total 2007-2013 allocation). The average EAFRD financial implementation rate
for all EAFRD programmes is 80%.
Graph 2 shows
that most Member States have absorbed more than 80% of the 
2007-2013 commitments.
Until the end of
2013 the application of the N+2 rule has resulted in relatively small
decommitments for the rural development programmes. Those decommmitments amount
in total to EUR 164.6 million and relate to years 2008, 2009 and 2010.
Decommitments in relation to year 2011 will be made in 2014.
4.           Control Measures
4.1.        Introduction
The EU
legislation provides for a comprehensive system of management and controls
which relies on four levels:
(a) compulsory
administrative structure at the level of Member States, centred around the
establishment of paying agencies and an accreditation authority at high level
which is competent for issuing and withdrawing the agency’s accreditation. The
decision for issuing the accreditation is based on a detailed review by an
external audit body;
(b) detailed systems
for controls and dissuasive sanctions to be applied by those paying agencies.
Article 9(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1290/2005[1] provides for
the general obligation of Member States to ensure that transactions financed by
the EAGF and the EAFRD are carried out and executed correctly, to prevent and
deal with irregularities and to recover amounts unduly paid. In complement to
this general obligation, for each aid scheme there is a system of controls and
dissuasive sanctions of final beneficiaries which reflects the specific
features of the scheme and the risk involved in its administration;
(c) ex-post
controls by independent audit bodies on the paying agencies' annual accounts
and the functioning of their internal control procedures (under Regulation (EC)
No 885/2006[2])
and by special departments on aid measures other than direct payments covered
by the IACS (checks based on Regulation (EC) No 485/2008[3]);
(d) clearance of
accounts through the Commission (both annual financial clearance and
multi-annual conformity clearance).
These four
levels establish a comprehensive system for the management and control of
agricultural expenditure. It includes, on the one hand, all the necessary
building blocks to guarantee a sound administration of the expenditure at Member
States’ level and, on the other hand, allows the Commission to counter the risk
of financial losses as a result of any deficiencies in the set-up and operation
of those building blocks through the clearance of accounts procedure. 
Council
Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005[4],
as amended, contains the rules on support for rural development by EAFRD;
Commission Regulations (EC) No 1974/2006[5] and (EU) No
65/2011[6],
as amended, lay down the rules for the application and control of rural
development support measures.
The control
rules provided by Commission Regulation (EU) No 65/2011 take into account the
characteristics of the measures i.e. timing for the submission of the payment
claims (aligned with the deadline set for the first pillar for Axis 2
measures), payments made after the finalization of the controls,
cross-compliance respect (depending on the measures), and a detailed sanction
system.
4.2.        Integrated
Administration and Control System (IACS)
Council
Regulation (EC) No 73/2009[7]
and
Commission Regulation (EC) No 1122/2009[8]
which contain the rules on the IACS are also applicable to rural development
support under Axis 2 as far as area- and animal-related measures are concerned.
A fully
operational IACS consists of: a computerised database, an identification system
for agricultural parcels and farmers claiming aid, a system for identification
and registration payment entitlements, aid applications and integrated controls
system (claim processing, on-the-spot checks and sanctioning mechanisms) and a
system for identifying and registering animals where applicable. The IACS is
fully automated and provides highly efficient controls by maximising the use of
computerised and remote controls.
This system
foresees a 100% administrative control covering the eligibility of the claim,
complemented by administrative cross-controls with standing databases ensuring
that only areas or animals that fulfil all eligible requirements are paid
premium and by a minimum 5% of on-the-spot checks to check the existence and
eligibility of the area or the animals claimed. If the on-the-spot controls
reveal a high number of irregularities, additional controls must be carried
out. The sample of transactions is determined on a risk and/or random basis.
The use of
standing databases, which are appropriately updated, is well adapted to the
schemes whereby aids are directly paid to the farmers and based on the areas or
on the number of animals, in that the risk can be reduced to the lowest levels.
For the
financial year 2013, the IACS covers around 44.7% of payments made under the
EAFRD for measures including inter alia, agri-environment and animal welfare
measures, less-favoured areas and areas with environmental restrictions and
afforestation of agricultural land.
The Commission
services verify the effectiveness of Member States' IACS by means of both
on-the-spot auditing and general supervision based on annually supplied
financial and statistical data. The Commission continues to consider that the
IACS is generally an effective control system for limiting the risk of error or
irregular expenditure, provided that it is properly applied.
5.           Clearance of
accounts
5.1.        Financial
clearance 
5.1.1.     Introduction
The financial
clearance covers the accounts and control systems set up by the paying
agencies. Within this framework, DG AGRI pays particular attention to the
certification bodies’ conclusions and recommendations (where weaknesses are
found), following their reviews of the paying agencies’ management and control
systems. As part of this review, the DG AGRI departments also cover aspects
relating to the accreditation criteria for the paying agencies and the
protection of the financial interests of the EU as regards the advances paid,
securities obtained and intervention stocks.
The Commission
adopts an annual clearance of accounts decision clearing the paying agencies'
annual accounts on the basis of the certificates and reports from the
certification bodies, but without prejudice to any subsequent decisions to
recover expenditure which proves not to have been in accordance with the EU
rules. The Commission must clear the accounts and adopt its clearance decision
by 30 April of the year following the financial year in question.
5.1.2.     Financial
clearance for financial year 2013
On 29 April
2014, the Commission adopted decision 2014/251/EU on the clearance of accounts
of the paying agencies of Member States concerning expenditure financed by the
EAFRD. This decision excluded the accounts of six paying agencies as
insufficient assurance was obtained on the completeness, accuracy and veracity
of their annual accounts. The paying agencies concerned are: SFA (Bulgaria), DAFA (Denmark) Andalucía and Asturias (Spain), OPEKEPE (Greece) and PARDF (Romania).
The total
expenditure cleared amounts to EUR 10 744 million while that EUR 2 237 million
was disjoined. The net financial impact of recoveries amounted to EUR 12.7
million. 
5.1.3.     Financial
clearance for financial year 2012
A Commission
Implementing decision was adopted on 26 April 2013, clearing the 2012 annual
accounts for EAFRD. This decision excluded the accounts of 7 paying agencies,
as no confirmation could be gained on the completeness, accuracy and veracity
of the annual accounts submitted. The paying agencies for which the accounts
were disjoined are: DAFA (Denmark), Baden-Württemberg, Thüringen and Helaba (Germany), ASP (France), PARDF (Romania) and Andalucía (Spain).
The decision
cleared in total an amount of EUR 10 630 million and disjoined an amount of EUR
2 556 million until a later Decision. The net financial impact resulted in a
recovery of EUR 6.4 million from the Member States.
The accounts of
the three German paying agencies, namely: Baden-Württemberg, Thüringen and
Helaba (Germany), are currently proposed for clearance. The adoption of the Commission
Implementing Decision is foreseen for September 2014.
The conformity
enquiries for the other four disjointed paying agencies are still ongoing.
5.1.4.     Financial clearance for financial year
2011
In April 2012,
the Commission adopted a decision clearing the 2011 annual accounts for EAFRD.
In this decision, the accounts of 9 paying agencies have been excluded and were
subject to a further review, and a subsequent clearance decision when the
specific issues communicated by the Commission services in the letter sent to
the Member States (according to Article 10(3) of Regulation (EC) No 885/2006)
have been resolved. The paying agencies for which the accounts were disjoined
were: Baden-Württemberg, Bayern, Rheinland-Pfalz and Thüringen (Germany), ODARC and ASP (France), PARDF (Romania), Andalucía (Spain) and SGRPID (United Kingdom).
This decision
cleared an amount of EUR 9 627 million and disjoined an amount of EUR 2 551
million until a later Decision. The net financial impact resulted in a payment
of EUR 4.3 million to the Member States.
The accounts of
the paying agencies Baden-Württemberg, Bayern, Rheinland-Pfalz, Thüringen
(Germany) and SGRPID (United Kingdom) were cleared with Commission Implementing
Decision C(2013)4812 dated 30.07.2013.
The conformity
enquiries concerning the EAFRD accounts of the four remaining disjoined paying
agencies are still being pursued.
5.1.5.     Financial clearance for financial year
2010
In February
2012, the Commission adopted one further decision clearing the 2010 annual accounts
of the paying agencies Baden-Württemberg, Bayern, Helaba and Rheinland-Pfalz (Germany) which had been initially disjoined, in respect of their expenditure funded by the
EAFRD. 
By means of this
decision, a total amount of EUR 370 million was cleared for the EAFRD financial
year 2010 (3% of the total annual expenditure). The net financial impact of
this decision resulted in a payment of EUR 0.5 million to the Member State.
The three
remaining paying agencies for which the 2010 EAFRD accounts are still outstanding
are Région Wallonne (Belgium), ARBEA (Italy) and Ministry of Agriculture (Luxembourg). 
The accounts of
the paying agency APA (Slovakia) were cleared with Commission Implementing
Decision C(2013)4267 dated 11.07.2013. Concerning the conformity enquiries for
the remaining three paying agencies are being further pursued. The total amount
concerned is EUR 63 million (1 % of total expenditure for the financial year in
question).
5.1.6.     Financial clearance for financial year
2009 and before
All EAFRD accounts
for the financial years 2007 and 2009 have been cleared.
Concerning the
financial year 2008, the last paying agency for which the 2008 EAFRD accounts
were still outstanding was OPEKEPE (Greece). The total amount concerned was EUR
224 million The EAFRD accounts were cleared with Commission Implementing
Decision C(2013)6291 dated 01.10.2013.
5.2.        Conformity
clearance – audits and decisions adopted in 2013
5.2.1.     Introduction
It is primarily
the Member States' responsibility to satisfy themselves that transactions are
carried out and executed correctly. Where Member States fail to meet this
requirement, the Commission applies financial corrections to protect the
financial interests of the EU.
The conformity
clearance relates to the legality and regularity of transactions. It is
designed to exclude expenditure from EU financing which has not been effected
in compliance with EU rules, thus shielding the EU budget from expenditure that
should not be charged to it (financial corrections). In contrast, it is not a
mechanism by which irregular payments to beneficiaries are recovered, which
according to the principle of shared management is the sole responsibility of
Member States.
Financial
corrections are determined on the basis of the nature and gravity of the
infringement and the financial damage caused to the EU. Where possible, the
amount is calculated on the basis of the loss actually caused or on the basis
of an extrapolation. Where this is not possible, flat-rates are used which take
account of the severity of the deficiencies in the national control systems in
order to reflect the financial risk for the EU.
Where undue
payments are or can be identified as a result of the conformity clearance
procedures, Member States are required to follow them up by recovery actions
against the final beneficiaries. However, even where this is not possible
because the financial corrections only relate to deficiencies in the Member
States' management and control systems, financial corrections are an important
means to improve these systems and thus to prevent or detect and recover
irregular payments to final beneficiaries. The conformity clearance thereby
contributes to the legality and regularity of the transactions at the level of
the final beneficiaries.
5.2.2.     Conformity
clearance – audits and decisions adopted in 2013
Audits
In 2013, two
desk audits and 21 conformity missions were carried out in respect of the
EAFRD, of which all enquiries for Axis 2 in EU 27 included the agri-environment
measures.
Conformity
decisions
In
2013, four conformity decisions were adopted which had a financial impact by
excluding from EU financing of EAFRD a total of EUR 228 million: 
Decision
2013/123/EU of 26/02/2013 – 40th Decision, financial impact of EUR 104.7
million,
Decision
2013/214/EU of 2/05/2013 – 41st Decision, financial impact of
EUR 88.4 million,
Decision
2013/433/EU of 13/08/2013 – 42nd Decision, financial impact of
EUR 24.8 million,
Decision
2013/763/EU of 12/12/2013 – 43rd Decision, financial impact of
EUR 10.6 million.
5.3.        Recoveries
Regarding
financial year 2013, the Member States reported the information about
irregularity cases by 1 February 2014. The Member States recovered EUR 98.8
million during financial year 2013, and the outstanding amount still to be
recovered from beneficiaries at the end of that financial year was EUR 224.2
million. The amounts recovered can be reused by the Member States under the
same rural development programme. Regulation (EC) No 1290/2005 introduced an
automatic clearing mechanism for non-recovered irregular payments after 4 years
or, in case the recovery is challenged in national courts, 8 years after the
establishment of the irregularity. The financial consequences of non-recovery
are shared by the Member State concerned and the EU on a 50 %-50 % basis. Since
under EAFRD, these provisions are applicable only after the closure of the
rural development programme, this automatic clearance mechanism did not apply
on the cases reported by the Member States for financial year 2013.
5.4.        Appeals
brought before the Court of Justice against clearance decisions
Judgments handed
down
In 2013, two
judgements have been handed down by the Court in appeals brought by the Member
States against clearance decisions with regard to EAFRD. The Court
rejected appeals brought in the following case:
judgement
of 17 May 2013 in cases T-294/11 brought by Greece,
judgement
of 17 May 2013 in cases T-335/11 brought by Bulgaria.
New appeals
In 2013 nine new
appeals were brought by the Member States against clearance decisions:
case
C-71/13 P brought by Greece on 11 February 2013,
case
T-255/13 brought by Italy on 7 May 2013,
case
T-257/13 brought by Poland on 8 May 2013,
case
T-259/13 brought by France on 14 May 2013,
case
T-346/13 brought by Greece on 2 July 2013,
case
C-391/13 P brought by Greece on 8 July 2013,
case
T-365/13 brought by Lithuania on 12 July 2013,
case
T-367/13 brought by Poland on 15 July 2013,
case
T-561/13 brought by Spain on 24 October 2013.
Appeals pending
The situation as
at 31 December 2013 with regard to appeals pending is shown, together with the
amounts concerned, in Table 13. 
Table 13
 Appeals against clearance of accounts decisions pending on 31 December 2013 (for EAFRD) 
 Case number || Member State || Challenged amount (EUR) 
 C-71/13 P || GR || -16 480 990.57 
 C-391/13 P || GR || -12 165 835.99 
 T-3/11 || PT || -213 224.74 
 T-255/13 || IT || -5 599 441.61 
 T-257/13 || PL || -28 763 238.60 
 T-259/13 || FR || -28 955 683.35 
 T-346/13 || GR || -6 175 094.49 
 T-365/13 || LT || -3 448 510.00 
 T-367/13 || PL || -71 610 559.39 
 T-561/13 || ES || -757 968.97 
 TOTAL ||   || -174 170 547.71 
6.           Basic rules governing the EAFRD and amendments made in
2013
6.1.        General
Basic
legislation
–              
Council
Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005 of 20 September 2005 on support for ruraldevelopment
by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) (OJ L
277,21.10.2005, p.l.); as last amended by Regulation of the European Parliament
and of theCouncil (EU) No 1312/2011 of 19 December 20011 (OJL 339,21.12.2011,
p.l.).
–              
Commission Regulation (EC) No 1974/2006 of 15
December 2006 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council
Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005 on support for rural development by the European
Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) (OJ L 368, 23.12.2009, p. 15);
as last amended by Commission Implementing Regulation 335/2013 of 12 April 2013
(OJL105, 13.4.2013, p.l.).
–              
Commission Regulation (EU) No 65/2011 of 27
January 2006 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Council
Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005, as regards the implementation of control
procedures as well as cross-compliance in respect of rural development support
measures (OJ L 25, 28.01.2011, p.8); as last amended by Commission Implementing
Regulation (EU) No 937/2012 of 12 October 2012 (OJL 280, 13.10.2012, p.l.).
6.2.        Recent modifications
Implementing
regulation for rural development, Commission Regulation (EC) No 1974/2006 was
amended by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 335/2013. This amendment
introduced extensions of on-going agri-environment, animal welfare and forest
environment commitments until the end of 2014 claim period, prohibition to
undertake new commitments under early retirement, meeting standards and
afforestation measures after 31.12.2013 and the use of technical assistance for
preparation of the next programming period. Furthermore, it introduced the
principle that if the 2007-2013 financial resources are used up, no new
commitments should be undertaken and the principle that Member States shall not
undertake new commitments under Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005 as of the day from
which they start undertaking commitments to beneficiaries pursuant to the legal
framework for the 2014-2020 programming period.
6.3.        Declarations
–              
Council Regulation (EC) No 73/2009 of 19 January
2009 (OJ L30, 31.1.2009, p. 16) establishing common rules for direct support
schemes for farmers under the common agricultural policy and establishing
certain support schemes for farmers, amending Regulations (EC) No 1290/2005,
(EC) No 247/2006, (EC) No 378/2007 and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003, 
as last amended by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 398/2013 of 30
April 2013 (OJ L 120, 1.5.2013, p. 9–10)
6.4.        Checks
–          
Council
Regulation (EC) No 73/2009 of 19 January 2009 (OJ L30, 31.1.2009, p. 16)
establishing common rules for direct support schemes for farmers under the
common agricultural policy and establishing certain support schemes for
farmers, amending Regulations (EC) No 1290/2005, (EC) No 247/2006,
(EC) No 378/2007 and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003,           
repealed by Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013 of the European Parliament and of
the Council of 17 December 2013 (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 608–670), as last
amended by Regulation (EU) No 1310/2013 of the European
Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 865–883),
–              
Commission
Regulation (EC) No 1122/2009 of 30 November 2009 (OJ L 316,
2.12.2009, p. 65) laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Council
Regulation (EC) No 73/2009 as regards cross-compliance, modulation and the
integrated administration and control system, under the direct support schemes
for farmers provided for that Regulation, as well as for the implementation of
Council Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 as regards cross-compliance under the
support scheme provided for the wine sector and repealing Commission Regulation
(EC) No 796/2004 of 21 April 2004 (OJ L 141, p. 18),
 as last amended by Commission Regulation (EU) No 426/2013 of 8 May
2013 (OJ L 127, 9.5.2013, p. 17–19)
–              
Council
Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005 of 20 September 2005 (OJ L 277, 21.10.2005,
p. 1) on support for rural development by the European Agricultural Fund for
Rural Development (EAFRD), repealed by Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 of the
European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 (OJ L 347,
20.12.2013, p. 487–548),
–              
Commission
Regulation (EC) No 1974/2006 of 15 December 2006 (OJ L 368, 23.12.2006, p.
15) laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC)
No 1698/2005 on support for rural development by the European Agricultural
Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD),
as last amended by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 335/2013
of 12 April 2013 (OJ L 105,
13.4.2013, p. 1–3),
–              
Commission
Regulation (EU) No 65/2011 of 27 January 2011 (OJ L 25, 28.1.2011, p. 8–23 )
laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No
1698/2005, as regards the implementation of control procedures as well as
cross-compliance in respect of rural development support measures, as last
amended by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 649/2013 of 8 July 2013
(OJ L 188, 9.7.2013, p. 5–6).
6.5.        Clearance of accounts
–              
Council
Regulation (EC) No 1290/2005 of 21 June 2005 on the financing of the
common agricultural policy (OJ L 209, 11.8.2005, p. 1),     
repealed by Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 of the European Parliament and of
the Council of 17 December (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 549–607);
–              
Commission Regulation (EC) No 885/2006 of
21 June 2006 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council
Regulation (EC) No 1290/2005 as regards the accreditation of paying
agencies and other bodies and the clearance of the accounts of the EAGF and of
the EAFRD (OJ L 171, 23.6.2006, p. 90), as last amended by
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 375/2012 of 2 May 2012 (OJ
L118, 3.5.2012, p. 4).
[1]               OJ L 209, 11.08.2005, p. 1
[2]               OJ L 171,
23.6.2006, p. 90–110
[3]               OJ L 143,
3.6.2008, p. 1–9
[4]               OJ L 277,
21.10.2005, p.1
[5]               OJ L 368,
23.12.2006, p.15
[6]               OJ L 25,
28.01.2011 p.8-23
[7]               OJ L30, 31.1.2009, p. 16
[8]               OJ L 316, 2.12.2009, p.65