On Tuesday 11 January, the European Commission invited all interested parties to comment on the proposed revised State aid rules for the agriculture, forestry and fishery sectors.
The proposed revision aims to align the current rules with the EU’s current strategic priorities, in particular the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) and the ‘European Green Deal’. Member States and other interested parties can respond to the consultation until 13 March 2022.
The revised rules are expected to be adopted by the end of 2022.
The consultation covers a set of rules: - the 2014 Guidelines for State aid in the agricultural and forestry sectors and in rural areas; - the Agricultural Block Exemption Regulation; - the Guidelines for the examination of State aid to the fishery and aquaculture sector; - the Fishery Block Exemption Regulation and the Fishery de minimis Regulation.
The Commission proposes a number of changes to the different sets of rules:
Guidelines for State aid in the agricultural and forestry sectors. The Commission proposes (https://bit.ly/3HXpbfR ) that actions taken by Member States under the reformed CAP in their CAP strategic plans should be considered to be in line with EU State aid rules, so that the necessary State aid clearance procedure can be carried out quickly. The proposal also introduces new categories of aid to be assessed and authorised under the guidelines, for example aid for the prevention, control and eradication of infestations by invasive alien species and emerging diseases to protect plant, animal and public health. In addition, more incentives are provided for forest-management measures which are favourable for the environment and the climate, by increasing the maximum aid intensity to 120% of eligible costs for biodiversity, climate, water and soil related services and carbon farming schemes.
Agricultural Block Exemption Regulation. The Commission proposes to align the aid intensities of the measures in this area with those of the CAP strategic plans. The institution also proposes to introduce new categories of block exempted aid measures, for example to remedy damage caused by protected species of animals and to compensate for the extra costs of agricultural land in Natura 2000 areas.
Guidelines for the examination of State aid to the fishery and aquaculture sector. The Commission proposes to introduce new aid categories to be assessed under the Guidelines, including aid for the prevention, control and eradication of infestations by invasive alien species and emerging diseases and aid to compensate for damage caused by protected species of animals (unless block exempted). The proposed draft guidelines also clarify and simplify the rules (aid for fleet renewal in the outermost regions).
Fishery Block Exemption Regulation. The Commission proposes to exempt new categories of aid measures from the obligation to notification to and approval by the Commission, in particular aid to compensate for damages caused by protected species of animals and aid to compensate damages caused by certain adverse weather conditions.
Fishery de minimis Regulation. The Commission proposes an update of the maximum cumulative amounts of de minimis aid that can be granted per Member State on the basis of more recent sectoral data.
Link to the consultation and documents: https://bit.ly/3ngNUUK (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)