REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL 11th FINANCIAL REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the EUROPEAN AGRICULTURAL FUND FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT (EAFRD) 2017 FINANCIAL YEAR
Date: 2018-09-17
Institutions: Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development, European Commission
Subjects: EAFRD, agricultural expenditure, commitment of expenditure, financial year, payment appropriation, rural development

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 17.9.2018  COM(2018) 629 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL 11th FINANCIAL REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL  on the EUROPEAN AGRICULTURAL FUND FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT (EAFRD) 2017 FINANCIAL YEAR  
 
 
Table of contents 

1. 

1.1. 

1.2. 

1.3. 

1.4. 

2. 

BUDGET PROCEDURE ................................................................................................... 2 

Financial framework .................................................................................................. 2 

Draft Budget (DB) 2017 ............................................................................................. 2 

The adoption of the 2017 Budget .............................................................................. 3 

The adoption of the Amending Budgets ................................................................... 3 

MANAGEMENT OF APPROPRIATIONS ........................................................................... 4 

2.1.  Management of commitment appropriations .......................................................... 4 

2.1.1.  EAFRD rural development programmes ..................................................................... 4 

2.1.2.  Technical assistance ..................................................................................................... 4 

2.2.  Management of payment appropriations................................................................. 4 

2.2.1.  EAFRD rural development programmes ..................................................................... 4 

2.2.2.  Technical assistance ..................................................................................................... 6 

3. 

3.1. 

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 2017 EAFRD BUDGET ..................................................... 6 

Implementation of commitment appropriations ..................................................... 6 

3.1.1.  EAFRD rural development programmes ..................................................................... 6 

3.1.2.  Technical assistance ..................................................................................................... 7 

3.2. 

Implementation of payment appropriations ............................................................ 8 

3.2.1.  EAFRD rural development programmes ..................................................................... 8 

3.2.2.  Technical assistance ................................................................................................... 13 

3.3. 

3.4. 

Analysis of expenditure declared by measure ....................................................... 13 

Implementation of EAFRD programmes............................................................... 15 

3.4.1.  Programming period 2007-2013................................................................................ 15 

3.4.2.  Programming period 2014-2020................................................................................ 15 

1 

 
 
 
 
1. 

BUDGET PROCEDURE 

1.1. 

Financial framework  

Rural  development  expenditure  in  2017  is  funded  within  two  multiannual  financial 
frameworks (MFFs): 2007-2013 and 2014-2020. The financial framework 2014-2020 
is  provided  by  Council  Regulation  (EU)  No  1311/2013.  The  allocation  for  rural 
development  and  the  allocation  for  market  related  expenditure  and  direct  payments 
after the annual technical adjustment of the MFF are presented in table 1. 

Table 1 – Financial framework 2014-2020 

HEADING 2. 

Sustainable growth: natural 
resources 

TOTAL  

of which : 

In million EUR; current prices 

2014 

2015 

2016 

2017 

2018 

2019 

2020 

49 857 

64 692 

64 262 

60 191 

60 267 

60 344 

60 421 

- Rural Development a), b), c), d), e) 

5 299 

18 184 

18 684 

14 371 

14 381 

14 691 

14 709 

- Market related expenditure and 
direct aids, a), b), c), d) 

43 778 

44 190 

43 950 

44 146 

44 162 

43  880 

43 888 

a) After net transfer of EUR 351.9 million between EAGF and EAFRD for the financial year 2014 (see note f for details) 

b) After net transfer of EUR 51.6 million between EAGF and EAFRD for the financial year 2015 (see note f for details) 

c) After net transfer of EUR 28 million between EAGF and EAFRD for the financial years 2014-2020 (see note f for details)  

d)  After  net  transfer  of  EUR  4  313.6  million  between  EAGF  and  EAFRD  for  financial  years  2015-2020  (see  note  f  for 
details) 

e) After the reprogramming of the EAFRD allocation of year 2014 following the application of Article 19 of MFF Regulation 
(EU) No 1311/2013 a total amount of EUR 8 705 million deducted from 2014 commitments was equally distributed to 2015 
and 2016 commitments 

f)  The  transfers  into  Rural  Development  (EAFRD)  mentioned  in  notes  a)  to  d)  above  involve:  EUR  4  million  transferred 
annually for the whole period 2014-2020 from the cotton sector (EL) on the basis of Article 66(1) of Regulation (EU) No 
1307/2013, EUR 296.3 million set for the voluntary adjustment transferred for the financial year 2014 (UK) on the basis of 
Article  10b  and  10c(2)  of  Regulation  (EC)  No  73/2009,  EUR  51.6  million  for  unspent  amounts  transferred  each  year  for 
financial years 2014 and 2015 (SE and DE) on the basis of Articles 136 and 136b of Regulation (EC) No 73/2009 and EUR 
4 313.6 million for the reduction of payments and the flexibility between pillars on the basis of Articles 7(2) and 14(1) of 
Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013 

1.2. 

Draft Budget (DB) 2017 

The 2017 Draft Budget (DB) was adopted by the Commission and proposed to the 
Budgetary Authority on 18 July 2016. 

The  Draft  Budget  included  EUR  1 280  million  in  payment  appropriations  for  the 
European  Agricultural  Fund  for  Rural  Development  (EAFRD)  for  the  2007-2013 
programming period. No commitment appropriations were requested for year 2017 
as  the  2007-2013  programming  period  ended  at  the  end  of  2013.  For  the 
programming  period  2014-2020,  the  DB  2017  included  EUR  14  360  million  in 
commitment appropriations and EUR 9 926 million in payment appropriations. 

2 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The Council adopted its position on the 2017 Draft Budget on 12 September 2016 
and  the  European  Parliament  adopted  its  position  on  26  October  2016.  The 
Conciliation  Committee  had  to  be  convened  and  the  Committee  agreed  on  a  joint 
text  within  the  21-day  time  limit.  The  Council  approved  the  joint  text  on  29 
November 2016 and the European Parliament approved it on 1 December 2016. 

1.3. 

The adoption of the 2017 Budget 

The 2017 Budget adopted on 1 December 2016 was, as regards the EAFRD, equal 
to the initial Commission's proposal.  

Table 2 

Budget Item 

Adopted Budget 2017 

Commitment 
appropriations 
(in EUR) 

Payment 
appropriations 
(in EUR) 

2007-2013 

05.040501 (Rural development programmes)  

05.040502 (Operational technical assistance) 

- 

- 

1 280 000 000 

- 

2014-2020 

05.046001 (Rural development programmes) 

14 337 026 697 

9 902 000 000 

05.010404 (Non-operational technical assistance) 

4 910 000 

4 910 000 

05.046002 (Operational technical assistance) 

18 522 000 

19 022 443 

1.4. 

The adoption of the Amending Budgets 

In the Amending Budgets No 6  the payment appropriations of EAFRD 2007-2013 
were  decreased  by  EUR  780  million  and  the  commitments  appropriations  for  the 
technical assistance were decreased by EUR 1.5 million. 

Table 3 

Budget Item 

Budget 2017 after the Amendments  

Commitment 
appropriations 
(in EUR) 

Payment 
appropriations 
(in EUR) 

2007-2013 

05.040501 (Rural development programmes)  

05.040502 (Operational technical assistance) 

-  

-  

500 000 000 

- 

05.046001 (Rural development programmes) 

14 337 026 697 

9 902 000 000 

05.010404 (Non-operational technical assistance) 

4 910 000 

4 910 000 

2014-2020 

3 

 
 
 
 
05.046002 (Operational technical assistance) 

17 022 000 

19 022 443 

2. 

MANAGEMENT OF APPROPRIATIONS 

2.1.  Management of commitment appropriations 

2.1.1.  EAFRD rural development programmes 

As  regards  commitment  appropriations,  the  2017  voted  budget  amounted  to 
EUR 14 337 million, all related to the 2014-2020 programmes.  

The Budget 2017 did not include any commitment appropriations for EAFRD 2007-
2013 programmes. 

Table 4 

Management of commitment appropriations 
in 2017 – EAFRD 

Budget Item 
05.040501 
(in EUR) 

Budget Item 
05.046001 
(in EUR) 

Appropriations at the beginning of 2017 

Appropriations available in 2017 

Appropriations used in 2017 

- 

- 

- 

14 337 026 697 

14 337 026 697 

14 337 026 697 

2.1.2.  Technical assistance 

Article 51(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 provides that the EAFRD may use 
up  to  0.25%  of  its  annual  allocation  to  finance  technical  assistance  actions  at  the 
initiative  of  the  Commission.  In  the  2017  budget,  the  initial  amount  available  for 
this  purpose  was  EUR  4.9  million  for  non-operational  technical  assistance  and 
EUR 18.5  million  for  operational  technical  assistance.  The  latter  was  reduced  by 
EUR 1.5 million by the Amending Budget No 6. 

2.2.  Management of payment appropriations 

2.2.1.  EAFRD rural development programmes 

For  the  rural  development  programmes  2014-2020,  the  payment  appropriations  of 
the  voted  budget  2017  amounted  to  EUR 9  902  million.  In  addition,  the  available 
assigned  revenue,  collected  during  the  year,  amounted  to  EUR  14.0  million  The 
payment appropriations were reinforced with the transfer of EUR 3.0 million from 
the line of the technical assistance, with the end-of-the year transfer in the amount of 
EUR 567.7 million and with the transfer of EUR 110.0 million of assigned revenue 
from EAFRD 2007-2013 in order to cover in full the Member States' declarations of 
expenditure of the third quarter of 2017. Taking into account all transfers, the total 
amount  of  payment  appropriations  available  in  2017  amounted  to  EUR 11 069.9 
million.  In  total,  in  2017,  EUR 11 051.8  million  of  payment  appropriations  were 
used and EUR 18.1 million of assigned revenue were automatically carried over to 
2018.  

4 

 
 
 
 
For  the  rural  development  programmes  2007-2013,  payment  appropriations  of  the 
voted  budget  2017  amounted  to  EUR  1 280  million.  In  addition,  the  available 
assigned  revenue,  either  carried  over  from  2016  or  collected  during  the  year, 
amounted to EUR 497.2 million. The Amending Budget No 6 reduced the payment 
appropriations  by  EUR  780  million.  Moreover,  they  were  also  reduced  by  two  
transfers  to  the  budget  line  for  the  EAFRD  2014-2020  programmes,  in  total  EUR 
583.2  million.  At  the  end  of  the  year,  the  total  amount  of  payment  appropriations 
available in 2017 was EUR 413.8 million. Of this amount, EUR 43.1 million were 
used and EUR 370.7 million of assigned revenue were automatically carried over to 
2018. 

Table 5 

Management of payment appropriations in 2017 
(in EUR) 

EAFRD (2014-2020) 
Budget Item - 05.046001 

Appropriations at the beginning of 2017 

Transfer from EAFRD 2007-2013 

Transfer from technical assistance line of EAFRD 
2014-2020 

End-of-the year transfer 

Assigned revenue collected in 2017 

Transfer of Assigned revenue from EAFRD 2007-
2013 

Appropriations available in 2017 

Appropriations used in 2017 

EAFRD (2007-2013) 
Budget Item - 05.040501 

Appropriations at the beginning of 2017 

Transfer to EAFRD 2014-2020  

Transfer to line 05.087706 

Amending budget 

Assigned revenue carried over from 2016 

Assigned revenue collected in 2017 

9 902 000 000 

473 190 882 

3 000 000 

567 662 308 

14 029 057 

110 000 000 

11 069 882 247 

11 051 784 091 

1 280 000 000 

-473 190 882 

-182 967 

-780 000 000 

12 134 265 

485 027 166 

Transfer of Assigned revenue to EAFRD 2014-2020 

-110 000 000 

5 

 
 
  
Appropriations available in 2017 

Appropriations used in 2017 

413 787 582 

43 121 731 

2.2.2.  Technical assistance 

As  regards  the  EAFRD  technical  assistance,  total  payment  appropriations  in  the 
2017  budget  amounted  to  EUR  23.9  million.  EUR  3.0  million  were  transferred  to 
the  EAFRD  2014-2020  programmes  line  in  order  to  cover  in  full  the  Member 
States’ declarations of expenditure of the third quarter of 2017. The final payment 
appropriations was EUR 20.9 million.  

3. 

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 2017 EAFRD BUDGET 

3.1. 

Implementation of commitment appropriations 

3.1.1.  EAFRD rural development programmes 

The total amount of commitment appropriations available in the 2017 budget for the 
EAFRD programmes 2014-2020 (EUR 14 337.0 million) was committed.  

Table 6 shows, per Member State, the allocation established by Regulation (EU) No 
1305/2013  as  last  amended  by  Commission  Delegated  Regulation  (EU)  2018/162 
and the amounts committed in 2017. 

Table 6 

Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 (as amended) vs. amounts 
committed by the end of 2017 

Budget item: 05.046001 

(in EUR) 

MS 

AT 

BE 

BG 

CY 

CZ 

DE 

DK 

EE 

ES 

FI 

FR 

GR 

HR 

HU 

Amounts committed 
in 2017 

(b) 
562 467 745 
97 175 076 
340 409 994 
18 894 801 
344 509 078 
1 404 073 302 
144 868 072 
122 865 093 
1 185 553 005 
340 009 057 
1 665 777 592 
703 471 245 

282 342 500 

488 620 684 

Regulation (EU) No 
1305/2013 
 2017 Allocation 
(a) 

562 467 745 
97 175 076 
340 409 994 
18 894 801 
344 509 078 
1 404 073 302 
144 868 072 
122 865 093 
1 185 553 005 
340 009 057 
1 665 777 592 
703 471 245 

282 342 500 

488 620 684 

6 

 
 
 
 
  
IE 

IT 

LT 

LU 

LV 

MT 

NL 

PL 

PT 

RO 

SE 

SI 

SK 

UK 

Total 

313 007 411 
1 493 380 162 
230 451 686 
14 366 484 
155 139 289 
13 914 927 
118 357 256 
1 192 025 238 
579 806 001 
1 186 544 149 
249 386 135 
119 684 133 
215 356 644 
754 569 938 
14 337 026 697 

313 007 411 
1 493 380 162 
230 451 686 
14 366 484 
155 139 289 
13 914 927 
118 357 256 
1 192 025 238 
579 806 001 
1 186 544 149 
249 386 135 
119 684 133 
215 356 644 
754 569 938 
14 337 026 697 

3.1.2.  Technical assistance 

For the programming period 2014-2020, the amount of commitment appropriations 
for operational technical assistance in the budget 2017 was EUR 18.5 million. This 
line was reduced by EUR 1.5 million in the Amending Budget No 6. Table 7 shows 
the  consumption  of  the  commitment  appropriations  available  for  operational 
technical  assistance  in  2017.  The most  important  part  relates  to  the  European 
Network for Rural Development as well as the European Innovation Partnership. 

Table 7 

Technical assistance – Implementation of commitment appropriations 

Budget Item: 05.046002 

 (in EUR)  

Description 

 Amount committed  

European Network for Rural Development  

European Innovation Partnership  
Information technology* 
European Evaluation Network  
Audit and Controls 
Solidarity Corps 
Organic agriculture database 
Total 

  * Including Broadband Competence Offices 

              5 023 899  

              2 687 741  
              2 257 024  
              1 925 113  
                 668 574  
                 500 000  
                 115 000  
         13 177 350  

7 

 
 
 
3.2. 

Implementation of payment appropriations 

3.2.1.  EAFRD rural development programmes 

For the programming period 2014-2020, all payment appropriations available in the 
Budget 2017 (EUR 9 902.0 million) were used. In addition, in the end of the year, 
reinforcements were needed to allow reimbursing in full expenditure declared by the 
Member  States.  The  following  transfers  increased  the  payment  appropriations 
available  for  EAFRD  2014-2020:  EUR 473.2  million  from  EAFRD  2007-2013 
Budget 2017, EUR 110.0 million of the assigned revenue from EAFRD 2007-2013, 
EUR 3.0  million  from  the  operational  technical  assistance  EAFRD  2014-2020, 
EUR 567.7  million  from  the  end-of-the  year  transfer.  In  total,  by the  end  of  2017, 
EUR 11 051.8  million,  out  of  EUR  11 069.9  million  payment  appropriations 
available after the transfers was used.  

For the programming period 2007-2013, EUR 43.1 million were implemented out of 
the initial EUR 1 280 million of payment appropriations available in the budget and 
of  EUR  497.2  million  available  as  assigned  revenue.  The  Amending  Budget  No 6 
reduced  the  payment  appropriations  by  EUR 780.0  million.  Moreover,  EUR 583.2 
million  (including  EUR 110.0  million  of  assigned  revenue)  was  transferred  to  the 
budget line for the EAFRD 2014-2020 programmes.  

Table 8 shows the breakdown of payments made in 2017 by declaration period: 

Table 8 

Payments 2017 for EAFRD rural development 
programmes (in million EUR) 

Pre-financing 2014-2020 

Reimbursement of payment claims prior to Q4 2017 

Reimbursement of payment claims Q4 2017 

Reimbursement of payment claims Q1 2017 

Reimbursement of payment claims Q2 2017 

Reimbursement of payment claims Q3 2017 

Closure and/or positive payments 2007-2013 

Total 2017 

2007-2013 

2014-2020 

Item 05.040501 

Item 05.046001 

- 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0 

43.1 

43.1 

0.0 
26.4 

3 941.4 

1 924.2 

2 099.1 

3 060.7 

- 

11 051.8 

8 

 
 
  
 
The  monthly  consumption  of  payment  appropriations  during  the  year  (January  to 
December 2017) is shown in the graph below.  

Graph 1  

9 

 
 
 
 
 
 
The breakdown per Member State and per declaration period of the amounts paid by 
the Commission in budget year 2017 is shown in tables 9a and 9b.  

Table 9a: EAFRD 2007-2013 

Payments effectively made between 01/01/2017 and 31/12/2017 
EAFRD 2007-2013 - Budget item 05.040501                 (in EUR) 

Positive payments, 
mainly following the 
judgements of Court 
of Justice 

Closure 

Total 

1 644 120 

1 644 120 

2 607 

2 607 

4 843 628 

4 843 628 

708 137 

708 137 

24 776 

24 776 

35 897 249 

35 897 249 

1 214 

1 214 

MS 

AT 

BE 

BG 

CY 

CZ 

DE 

DK 

EE 

ES 

FI 

FR 

GR 

HU 

IE 

IT 

LT 

LU 

LV 

MT 

NL 

PL 

PT 

RO 

SE 

SI 

SK 

UK 

Total 

43 121 731 

0 

43 121 731 

10 

 
 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
Table 9b: EAFRD 2014-2020 

Payments effectively made between 01/01/2017 and 31/12/2017  
EAFRD 2014-2020 - Budget item 05.046001 

(in EUR) 

MS 

AT 

BE 

BG 

CY 

CZ 

DE 

DK 

EE 

ES 

FI 

FR 

GR 

HR 

HU 

IE 

IT 

LT 

LU 

LV 

MT 

NL 

PL 

PT 

RO 

SE 

SI 

SK 

UK 

Prior to Q4 
2016 

Q4 2016 

Q1 2017 

Q2 2017 

 Q3 2017 

Total 

284 034 513 

34 306 827 

118 368 156 

41 760 912 

478 470 408 

5 925 045 

2 756 556 

19 664 658 

39 513 021 

7 106 491 

2 030 516 

19 997 126 

81 321 944 

1 212 301 

8 452 989 

37 131 717 

54 014 439 

194 514 062 

4 224 143 

14 573 450 

40 792 524 

95 902 134 

86 375 959 

36 281 185 

259 351 803 

474 591 531 

206 265 375 

158 977 107 

111 118 692 

950 952 706 

27 313 513 

20 805 180 

17 338 409 

52 578 670 

31 119 758 

12 925 139 

20 639 549 

16 571 073 

99 878 000 

99 413 291 

288 516 817 

126 055 741 

121 249 143 

166 811 391 

702 633 093 

127 783 822 

18 656 891 

801 033 393 

64 649 703 

338 972 961 

39 884 776 

12 404 315 

35 760 815 

53 803 633 

69 174 381 

45 877 268 

79 650 699 

118 963 308 

319 207 655 

818 850 517 

1 753 707 994 

283 310 929 

708 045 934 

22 357 649 

150 173 479 

54 311 309 

2 482 437 

105 315 539 

34 483 224 

196 592 509 

104 218 851 

24 253 168 

17 117 853 

108 982 160 

254 572 032 

215 647 575 

189 232 281 

211 715 839 

173 676 812 

790 272 508 

84 849 526 

68 844 173 

55 926 201 

44 354 105 

253 974 006 

2 759 059 

4 188 850 

637 753 

1 277 912 

8 863 575 

63 038 107 

44 521 391 

22 859 330 

32 078 140 

162 496 969 

1 654 062 

305 557 

88 103 

123 251 

2 170 973 

11 845 693 

32 549 017 

10 590 136 

2 628 968 

57 613 814 

148 421 690 

132 318 221 

208 784 253 

84 080 426 

573 604 590 

309 074 601 

87 906 633 

77 268 204 

49 983 739 

524 233 177 

26 332 371 

265 094 574 

340 526 570 

313 662 587 

623 552 613 

1 569 168 715 

31 826 689 

34 272 890 

27 374 475 

12 498 310 

51 127 107 

44 801 397 

23 227 732 

31 421 808 

38 534 466 

14 948 891 

104 276 200 

8 959 016 

80 253 608 

33 400 226 

167 863 196 

43 923 

124 709 926 

166 295 483 

101 908 247 

144 817 050 

537 774 629 

Total 

26 376 295 

3 941 431 236 

1 924 162 584 

2 099 110 666 

3 060 703 310 

11 051 784 091 

Table 10 compares, for each Member State, the EAFRD 2014-2020 payments made 
in 2017 with the payments in 2016. The payments increased significantly (by 42%) 
compared  to  year  2016  (EUR 11.1  billion  vs.  EUR  7.8  billion).  The  2016  figures 
include the last tranche of pre-financing paid for the 2014-2020 programmes. 

11 

 
 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
 
 
Table 10 

Payments made to Member States - Comparison 2017 vs 2016 - EAFRD 2014-2020 

(in EUR) 

Interim payments 

Pre-financing 

Total 

Interim payments 

Pre-financing 

Total 

(in €) 

(in %) 

2016 

2017 

Difference 2017 vs. 2016 

MS 

AT 

BE 

BG 

CY 

CZ 

DE 

DK 

EE 

ES 

FI 

FR 

GR 

HR 

HU 

IE 

IT 

LT 

LU 

LV 

MT 

NL 

PL 

PT 

RO 

SE 

SI 

SK 

UK 

394 576 581 

39 375 520 

433 952 101 

39 503 051 

6 477 978 

45 981 029 

129 060 043 

23 667 170 

152 727 213 

7 177 699 

1 322 444 

8 500 142 

181 882 819 

23 056 740 

204 939 559 

647 841 345 

93 607 201 

741 448 545 

74 929 013 

14 976 097 

89 905 110 

87 901 431 

8 233 416 

96 134 846 

378 590 289 

82 973 888 

461 564 178 

327 182 929 

23 804 083 

350 987 012 

478 470 408 

37 131 717 

194 514 062 

14 573 450 

259 351 803 

950 952 706 

99 878 000 

99 413 291 

702 633 093 

319 207 655 

524 557 370 

113 848 442 

638 405 812 

1 753 707 994 

227 838 949 

47 182 918 

275 021 867 

131 044 159 

20 262 225 

151 306 384 

208 468 125 

34 306 645 

242 774 769 

253 822 792 

21 905 922 

275 728 714 

419 548 741 

104 443 808 

523 992 549 

173 957 330 

16 130 882 

190 088 212 

6 355 840 

1 005 746 

7 361 586 

708 045 934 

150 173 479 

196 592 509 

254 572 032 

790 272 508 

253 974 006 

8 863 575 

108 833 038 

10 756 038 

119 589 076 

162 496 969 

589 457 

973 269 

1 562 726 

34 449 926 

10 812 454 

45 262 379 

362 852 034 

88 961 088 

451 813 122 

536 945 153 

40 601 404 

577 546 557 

2 170 973 

57 613 814 

573 604 590 

524 233 177 

524 017 099 

81 279 964 

605 297 063 

1 569 168 715 

191 405 372 

17 455 653 

208 861 025 

77 260 537 

8 378 498 

85 639 035 

105 682 050 

15 885 298 

121 567 349 

653 010 765 

48 906 195 

701 916 960 

104 276 200 

80 253 608 

167 863 196 

537 774 629 

Total 

6 809 283 936 

1 000 590 984 

7 809 874 920 

11 051 784 091 

12 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

478 470 408 

44 518 307 

37 131 717 

-8 849 312 

194 514 062 

41 786 849 

14 573 450 

6 073 308 

259 351 803 

54 412 243 

950 952 706 

209 504 160 

99 878 000 

99 413 291 

9 972 890 

3 278 445 

702 633 093 

241 068 915 

319 207 655 

-31 779 358 

1 753 707 994 

1 115 302 182 

708 045 934 

433 024 067 

150 173 479 

-1 132 905 

196 592 509 

-46 182 260 

254 572 032 

-21 156 682 

790 272 508 

266 279 959 

253 974 006 

63 885 794 

8 863 575 

1 501 989 

162 496 969 

42 907 893 

2 170 973 

608 248 

57 613 814 

12 351 435 

573 604 590 

121 791 467 

524 233 177 

-53 313 380 

1 569 168 715 

963 871 652 

104 276 200 

-104 584 824 

80 253 608 

-5 385 427 

167 863 196 

46 295 847 

537 774 629 

-164 142 331 

11 051 784 091 

3 241 909 172 

10.26% 

-19.25% 

27.36% 

71.45% 

26.55% 

28.26% 

11.09% 

3.41% 

52.23% 

-9.05% 

174.70% 

157.45% 

-0.75% 

-19.02% 

-7.67% 

50.82% 

33.61% 

20.40% 

35.88% 

38.92% 

27.29% 

26.96% 

-9.23% 

159.24% 

-50.07% 

-6.29% 

38.08% 

-23.38% 

41.51% 

 
 
  
3.2.2.  Technical assistance  

For the programming period 2014-2020, the amount for payment appropriations for 
the  operational  technical  assistance  was  EUR  19.0  million.  A  part  of  these 
appropriations (EUR 3.0 million) was transferred to cover payment needs in relation 
to rural development programmes under EAFRD 2014-2020. 

Table  11  hereafter  presents  the  payments  grouped  by  main  activities.  The  most 
important part relates to the European Network for Rural Development. 

Table 11 

Technical assistance – Implementation of payment appropriations 

Budget Item: 05.046002 

Description 

European Network for Rural Development 

European Innovation Partnership 

Corporate communication 

Information technology* 

European Evaluation Network 

Audit and Controls 

Technical Advisory Platform for Financial Instruments 

Solidarity Corps 

Organic agriculture database 

Total 

  * Including Broadband Competence Offices 

3.3. 

Analysis of expenditure declared by measure 

 (in EUR)  

Amount paid  

4 057 011 

2 734 982 

2 600 000 

2 258 270 

1 375 984 

649 115 

320 000 

296 041 

248 533 

14 539 936 

Table 12 shows the payment claims declared by Member States and by measure for 
rural  development  in  2017  (4th  quarter  of  2016  to  3rd  quarter  of  2017),  the 
cumulative declared expenditure from the beginning of the programming period and 
also the financial plan of EAFRD 2014-2020 programmes.  

The expenditure for EAFRD 2014-2020 in 2017 continued to concentrate mainly in 
Measure  13  (Payments  to  areas  facing  natural  or  other  specific  constraints)  and  in 
Measure 10 (Agri-environment-climate).  

13 

 
 
  
Table 12 

EAFRD declared expenditure 2017 (Q4 2016-Q3 2017) & Total cumulative expenditure (Q4 2014 to Q3 2017)  
compared with Financial Plans  - EAFRD 2014-2020 

Measure 01 

Measure 02 

Measure 03 

Measure 04 

Measure 05 

Measure 06 

Measure 07 

Measure 08 

Measure 09 

Measure 10 

Measure 11 

Measure 12 

Measure 13 

EAFRD Measure 

Knowledge transfer and information 
actions 
Advisory services, farm management 
and farm relief services 

Quality schemes for agricultural 
products and foodstuffs 

Investments in physical assets 
Restoring agricultural production 
potential damaged by natural disasters 
and catastrophic events and 
introduction of appropriate prevention 
actions 
Farm and business development 
Basic services and village renewal in 
rural areas 
Investments in forest area development 
and improvement of the viability of 
forests 
Setting-up of producer groups and 
organisations 
Agri-environment-climate 

Organic farming 

Natura 2000 and Water Framework 
Directive payments 

Payments to areas facing natural or 
other specific constraints  

Measure 14 

Animal Welfare 

Measure 15 

Measure 16 

Measure 17 

Measure 18 

Measure 19 

Measure 20 

Measure 113 

Measure 131 

Measure 341 

Grand total 

Forest environmental and climate 
services and forest conservation 

Co-operation 

Risk management 

Financing of complementary national 
direct payments for Croatia 
Support for LEADER local 
development — community-led local 
development (CLLD) 
Technical assistance Member States 

Early retirement 
Meeting standards based on 
Community legislation 
Skills acquisition, animation and 
implementation 

Declared expenditure 
2017 (Q4 2016 to Q3 
2017) 

Cumulative declared 
expenditure (Q4 2014 
to Q3 2017) 

Financial Plans 2014-
2020 

 (million 
€) 

(%) 

 (million 
€) 

(%) 

 (million 
€) 

(%) 

51.4 

16.0 

18.3 

0.5% 

0.1% 

73.3 

0.3% 

1 102.7 

1.1% 

27.3 

0.1% 

763.4 

0.8% 

0.2% 

28.8 

0.1% 

379.9 

0.4% 

1 625.5 

14.7% 

2 811.7 

13.3% 

22 621.2 

22.8% 

58.5 

0.5% 

111.6 

0.5% 

894.1 

0.9% 

861.5 

568.5 

7.8% 

5.2% 

1 277.6 

688.9 

6.0% 

3.3% 

7 234.7 

6 679.5 

7.3% 

6.7% 

341.7 

3.1% 

670.2 

3.2% 

4 532.6 

4.6% 

17.4 

2 031.8 

939.8 

0.2% 

18.4% 

8.5% 

33.4 

0.2% 

413.1 

0.4% 

5 125.3 

1 739.5 

24.2% 

8.2% 

16 504.1 

6 631.8 

16.6% 

6.7% 

69.6 

0.6% 

165.5 

0.8% 

576.2 

0.6% 

3 314.4 

30.0% 

6 532.7 

30.8% 

16 013.6 

16.1% 

287.8 

10.7 

38.8 

166.6 

17.8 

291.5 

208.0 

97.4 

0.0 

0.4 

2.6% 

0.1% 

0.4% 

1.5% 

0.2% 

519.3 

2.5% 

1 509.4 

20.2 

0.1% 

265.2 

60.7 

182.3 

0.3% 

0.9% 

1 749.0 

1 671.7 

108.5 

0.5% 

111.9 

1.5% 

0.3% 

1.8% 

1.7% 

0.1% 

2.6% 

417.0 

2.0% 

6 931.2 

7.0% 

1.9% 

0.9% 

0.0% 

0.0% 

291.7 

295.1 

0.0 

0.4 

1.4% 

1.4% 

0.0% 

0.0% 

2 125.4 

631.8 

0.0 

0.6 

2.1% 

0.6% 

0.0% 

0.0% 

11 033.6 

100.0% 

21 180.9 

100.0% 

99 343.3 

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. 

14 

 
 
 
  
  
 
3.4. 

Implementation of EAFRD programmes 

3.4.1.  Programming period 2007-2013 

Graph  2  presents  the  absorption  rate  of  rural  development  programmes  2007-2013 
per Member State: payments from the beginning of the programming period till 31 
December  2017,  including  closure  payments  for  the  programmes  that  have  already 
been closed by this date, compared to the total 2007-2013 allocation.  

Until the end of 2017 the application of the N+2 rule has resulted in decommitments 
amounting in total to EUR 1 867 million. 

3.4.2.  Programming period 2014-2020 

Graph  3  presents  the  absorption  rate  of  rural  development  programmes  2014-2020 
per  Member  State:  payments  from  the  beginning  of  the  programming  period 
including payments  made for the 4th quarter of 2017 that is reimbursed in financial 
year 2018 compared to the total 2014-2020 allocation. 

15 

 
 
 
16 

 
 
 
 
17