Brussels, 24/04/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 23 April, the competent management committee of the EU unanimously voted in favour of the European Commission's proposal to extend by one month the deadline for farmers to submit their applications for direct payments (see EUROPE 11278).
Farmers will now have until 15 June 2015 to submit their aid applications, as opposed to 15 May under normal circumstances. This extension will also apply to the surface area payments in the framework of the second pillar of the common agriculture policy (CAP), in other words rural development.
Over the last few weeks, 15 member states have expressed their intentions of making use of this option: Belgium (the Region of Wallonia), Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Ireland, Italy, Malta, France, Croatia, Spain, Austria, Poland, Greece, the United Kingdom, Romania and the Netherlands. It is the responsibility of the countries to establish the new cut-off date. Administrative checks need to be carried out by the payment agencies before the funds can be paid out. (Lionel Changeur)