On Friday 27 April, the European Commission confirmed it would allow member states to extend, by one month, the final date for farmers to submit their aid application for direct payments for 2018.
Farmers will have until 15 June 2018 to submit their applications for direct payments, compared with the usual 15 May. This extension also applies to surface area payments provided for under the second pillar of Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), regarding rural development. It is up to the countries of the EU to decide whether or not they wish to benefit from the extra time.
The decision is a direct response to the request made by a number of member states which are implementing changes to their administrative system to take into account the increased flexibility in the administration of direct payments decided in the Omnibus regulation. In addition, some member states have experienced delays in implementing the geo-spatial aid application. Consequently, some EU countries have encountered exceptional administrative difficulties, the Commission states. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)