The European Commission adopted, on Tuesday 14 July, an amendment to the rules governing the EU’s agri-food promotion policy in order to reduce the administrative and financial requirements weighing on beneficiaries and Member States (see EUROPE 13908/15).
This simplification is intended to make European funding more accessible to applicant organisations.
Three main changes are being introduced:
- a longer deadline for concluding contracts: the maximum period is increased from 90 to 180 days, giving Member States and beneficiaries more time to complete necessary procedures;
- higher pre-financing: the maximum pre-financing rate increases to 30%, helping in particular smaller beneficiaries with more upfront funding to implement their programmes;
- fewer reporting requirements: notification obligations to the Commission on the impact of simple programmes are reduced to one final notification.
The new regulation will enter into force on the seventh day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. It will apply from that date, but will not concern implementation contracts for simple programmes concluded before 1 December 2026. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)