Negotiators from the EU Council, the European Parliament and the Commission reached an agreement on Tuesday 10 November on how the €8 billion agricultural component of the Recovery Plan to overcome the Covid-19 crisis (see EUROPE 12596/4) will be paid out in 2021 and 2022.
The political agreement reached has yet to be formally adopted by the Parliament and the EU Council.
Negotiators agreed to frontload all the funds made available for rural communities from the EU recovery instrument to 2021 and 2022. The European Commission had proposed to release the funds between 2022 and 2024.
The agreement provides for the payment of 30% (€2.387 billion) of the funds in 2021 and €5.683 billion in 2022 (i.e. 70%).
This text also provides for the following provisions: At least 37% of the funds will be mobilised for organic farmers and environmental, climate-related actions and for animal welfare; - at least 55% of the fund will support young farmers’ start-ups and on-farm investments that contribute to a resilient, sustainable and digital recovery.
In addition, the share of the Recovery Plan to be used by Member States for environmentally beneficial practices should not be lower than the percentage of the EU rural development envelope they currently spend to this end.
Higher European co-financing. The EU will finance up to 100% of eligible measures with the additional funds provided by the Next Generation EU programme. EU countries will therefore not, in this case, have to contribute any additional money from their national budgets.
Negotiators agreed that investments made by farmers and food processors that contribute to a sustainable and digital economic recovery can be supported up to a level of 75% of incurred costs.
MEPs also managed to increase the ceiling for business start-up aid for young farmers from €70,000 to €100,000.
The text on the agricultural recovery plan will be incorporated into the regulation on transitional rules for the CAP (a trilogue will take place on 27 November on these transitional measures). These transitional measures will then have to be approved by the Parliament and the EU Council before they can enter into force on 1 January 2021.
The rapporteur, Paolo De Castro (S&D, Italy), pointed out that in addition to the €8 billion, €2.6 billion from the Rural Development Fund will be available in 2021 in the form of advance payments, as foreseen in the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2021-2027. Thanks to national co-financing, it will be possible for countries to multiply the total of these envelopes by five, Mr De Castro said.
Jérémy Decerle (Renew Europe, France), shadow rapporteur, noted the “flexibility” given to Member States to put in place measures “best suited to the national situation or context“, he told EUROPE. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)