On Friday 22 February, the European Commission adopted revised rules to raise the ceiling for so-called de minimis aid in the agricultural sector by 66% in some cases (see EUROPE 12150).
Where the amounts of aid are sufficiently low, as is the case for de minimis aid, it is not the duty of EU countries to notify them to the Commission or to obtain the Commission's authorisation.
The maximum amount of aid that can be distributed per farm over a three-year period will be increased from €15,000 to €20,000. Each country of the Union receives a maximum national amount which they cannot exceed. Each national ceiling will be set at 1.25% of the country's annual agricultural output over the same three-year period (currently 1%), an increase of 25%.
If a country does not spend more than 50% of its total national aid envelope on one particular agricultural sector, it may increase even further the de minimis aid to €25,000 and the national maximum to 1.5%: an increase of 66% in the ceiling per farmer and 50% increase in the national ceiling.
Countries that do opt for that highest ceiling will be required to create mandatory central registers at national level to keep track of the aid granted in order to simplify and improve the delivery.
The increased ceilings come into force on 14 March and can apply retroactively to aids fulfilling all the conditions. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)