Commission Regulation (EU) No 702/2014 of 25 June 2014 declaring certain categories of aid in the agricultural and forestry sectors and in rural areas compatible with the internal market in application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union

TABLE OF CONTENTS	TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER I:	COMMON PROVISIONS
CHAPTER II:	PROCEDURAL REQUIREMENTS
CHAPTER III:	CATEGORIES OF AID
Section 1:	Aid in favour of SMEs active in primary agricultural production, the processing of agricultural products and the marketing of agricultural products
Section 2:	Aid for investments in favour of conservation of cultural and natural heritage located on agricultural holdings
Section 3:	Aid to make good the damage caused by natural disasters in the agricultural sector
Section 4:	Aid for research and development in the agricultural and forestry sectors
Section 5:	Aid in favour of forestry
Section 6:	aids in favour of SMEs in Rural Areas co-financed by the EAFRD or granted as additional national financing to such co-financed measures
CHAPTER IV:	TRANSITIONAL AND FINAL PROVISIONS

CHAPTER I COMMON PROVISIONS

Article 1

Scope

• (a) aid in favour of micro, small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs):
• (i) active in the agricultural sector, namely primary agricultural production, the processing of agricultural products and the marketing of agricultural products, with the exception of Articles 14, 15, 16, 18 and 23 and Articles 25 to 28 which shall only apply to SMEs active in the primary agricultural production;
• (ii) for activities falling outside the scope of Article 42 of the Treaty insofar as such aid is granted in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 and is either co-financed by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) or granted as additional national financing for such co-financed measures.

• (b) aid for investments for the conservation of cultural and natural heritage located on agricultural holdings;

• (c) aid in favour of making good the damage caused by natural disasters in the agricultural sector;

• (d) aid for research and development in the agricultural and forestry sectors;

• (e) aid in favour of forestry.

• (a) the forestry sector which is not co-financed by the EAFRD or granted as additional national financing for such co-financed measures, with the exception of Articles 31, 38, 39 and 43;

• (b) SMEs for activities falling outside the scope of Article 42 of the Treaty which is not co-financed by the EAFRD or granted as additional national financing for such co-financed measure.

• (a) aid schemes provided for in Articles 17, 32 and 33, Article 34(5)(a) to (c), and Articles 35, 40, 41, and 44 of this Regulation, if the average annual State aid budget exceeds EUR 150 million, from six months after their entry into force. The Commission may decide that this Regulation shall continue to apply for a longer period to any of these aid schemes after having assessed the relevant evaluation plan notified by the Member State to the Commission, within 20 working days from the scheme's entry into force;

• (b) any alterations of schemes referred to in paragraph 4(a) of this Article, other than modifications which cannot affect the compatibility of the aid scheme under this Regulation or cannot significantly affect the content of the approved evaluation plan;

• (c) aid to export-related activities towards third countries or Member States, namely aid directly linked to the quantities exported, to the establishment and operation of a distribution network or to other current costs linked to export activity;

• (d) aid contingent upon the use of domestic over imported goods.

• (a) aid schemes which do not explicitly exclude the payment of individual aid in favour of an undertaking which is subject to an outstanding recovery order following a previous Commission decision declaring an aid granted by the same Member State illegal and incompatible with the internal market;

• (b) ad hoc aid to an undertaking referred to in point (a).

• (a) aid to make good the damage caused by natural disasters in accordance with Article 30, aid for the costs of the eradication of animal diseases in accordance with Article 26(8) and aid for removal and destruction of fallen stock in accordance with Article 27(1)(c), (d) and (e);

• (b) aid for the following events provided that the undertaking became an undertaking in difficulty due to losses or damages caused by the event in question:
• (i) to compensate for losses caused by an adverse climatic event which can be assimilated to a natural disaster in accordance with Article 25;
• (ii) aid for the costs of the eradication of plant pests and for making good the damage caused by animal diseases and plant pests in accordance with Article 26(8) and (9);
• (iii) aid for the restoration of damage to forests from fires, natural disasters, adverse climatic events which can be assimilated to a natural disaster, other adverse climatic events, plant pests, catastrophic events and climate change related events in accordance with Article 34(5)(d);

• (c) aid to undertakings which were not in difficulty on 31 December 2019 but became undertakings in difficulty in the period from 1 January 2020 to 30 June 2021.

• (a) aid where the grant of aid is subject to the obligation for the beneficiary to have its headquarters in the relevant Member State or to be predominantly established in that Member State;

• (b) aid where the grant of aid is subject to the obligation for the beneficiary to use nationally produced goods or national services;

• (c) aid restricting the possibility for the beneficiaries to exploit the research, development and innovation results in other Member States.

Article 2

Definitions

For the purpose of this Regulation the following definitions shall apply:

• (1) ‘aid’ means any measure fulfilling all the criteria laid down in Article 107(1) of the Treaty;

• (2) ‘SME’ or ‘micro, small and medium-sized enterprises’ means undertakings fulfilling the criteria laid down in Annex I;

• (3) ‘agricultural sector’ means all undertakings active in primary agricultural production, processing and marketing of agricultural products;

• (4) ‘agricultural product’ means the products listed in Annex I to the Treaty, except the fishery and aquaculture products listed in Annex I to Regulation (EU) No 1379/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council ([^E0001]);

• (5) ‘primary agricultural production’ means the production of products of the soil and of stock farming, listed in Annex I to the Treaty, without performing any further operation changing the nature of such products;

• (6) ‘processing of agricultural products’ means any operation on an agricultural product resulting in a product which is also an agricultural product, except on-farm activities necessary for preparing an animal or plant product for first sale;

• (7) ‘marketing of agricultural products’ means holding or display with a view to sale, offering for sale, delivery or any other manner of placing on the market, except the first sale by a primary producer to resellers or processors and any activity preparing a product for such first sale; a sale by a primary producer to final consumers is considered as marketing of agricultural products if it takes place in separate premises reserved for that purpose;

• (8) ‘agricultural holding’ means a unit comprising of land, premises and facilities used for primary agricultural production;

• (9) ‘natural disasters’ means earthquakes, avalanches, landslides and floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, volcanic eruptions and wild fires of natural origin;

• (10) ‘aid scheme’ means any act on the basis of which, without further implementing measures being required, individual aid awards may be made to undertakings defined within the act in a general and abstract manner and any act on the basis of which aid which is not linked to a specific project may be granted to one or several undertakings for an indefinite period of time and for an indefinite amount;

• (11) ‘evaluation plan’ means a document containing at least the following minimum elements: the objectives of the aid scheme to be evaluated; the evaluation questions; the result indicators; the envisaged methodology to conduct the evaluation; the data collection requirements; the proposed timing of the evaluation, including the date of submission of the final evaluation report; the description of the independent body conducting the evaluation or the criteria that will be used for its selection and the modalities for ensuring the publicity of the evaluation;

• (12) ‘individual aid’ means:
• (a) ad hoc aid; and
• (b) awards of aid to individual beneficiaries on the basis of an aid scheme;

• (13) ‘ad hoc aid’ means aid not granted on the basis of an aid scheme;

• (14) ‘undertaking in difficulty’ means an undertaking in respect of which at least one of the following circumstances occurs:
• (a) in the case of a limited liability company (other than an SME that has been in existence for less than three years), where more than half of its subscribed share capital has disappeared as a result of accumulated losses. This is the case when deduction of accumulated losses from reserves (and all other elements generally considered as part of the own funds of the company) leads to a negative cumulative amount that exceeds half of the subscribed share capital. For the purposes of this provision, ‘limited liability company’ refers in particular to the types of company mentioned in Annex I of Directive 2013/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council ([^E0002]) and ‘share capital’ includes, where relevant, any share premium;
• (b) in the case of a company where at least some members have unlimited liability for the debt of the company (other than an SME that has been in existence for less than three), where more than half of its capital as shown in the company accounts has disappeared as a result of accumulated losses. For the purposes of this provision, ‘a company where at least some members have unlimited liability for the debt of the company’ refers in particular to the types of company mentioned in Annex II to Directive 2013/34/EU;
• (c) where the undertaking is subject to collective insolvency proceedings or fulfils the criteria under its domestic law for being placed in collective insolvency proceedings at the request of its creditors;
• (d) where the undertaking has received rescue aid and has not yet reimbursed the loan or terminated the guarantee, or has received restructuring aid and is still subject to a restructuring plan;
• (e) in the case of an undertaking that is not an SME, where, for the past two years:
• (i) the undertaking's book debt to equity ratio has been greater than 7,5 and
• (ii) the undertaking's EBITDA interest coverage ratio has been below 1,0;

• (15) ‘fallen stock’ means animals which have been killed by euthanasia with or without a definite diagnosis or which have died, including stillborn and unborn animals, on a farm or on any premises or during transport, but which have not been slaughtered for human consumption;

• (16) ‘adverse climatic event which can be assimilated to a natural disaster’ means unfavourable weather conditions such as frost, storms and hail, ice, heavy or persistent rain or severe drought which destroy more than 30 % of the average of the production calculated on the basis of:
• (a) the preceding three-year period; or
• (b) a three-year average based on the preceding five-year period, excluding the highest and the lowest entry;

• (17) ‘other adverse climatic events’ means unfavourable weather conditions which do not meet the conditions of Article 2(16) of this Regulation;

• (18) ‘plant pest’ means harmful organisms as defined in Article 2(1)(e) of Council Directive 2000/29/EC ([^E0003]);

• (19) ‘catastrophic event’ means an unforeseen event of biotic or abiotic nature caused by human action that leads to important disturbances of forest structures, eventually causing important economic damage to the forest sectors;

• (20) ‘gross grant equivalent’ means the amount of the aid if it had been provided in the form of a grant to the beneficiary, before any deduction of tax or other charges;

• (21) ‘tangible assets’ means assets consisting of land, buildings and plant, machinery and equipment;

• (22) ‘intangible assets’ means assets that do not have a physical or financial embodiment such as patents, licences, know-how or other intellectual property;

• (23) ‘agroforestry systems’ means land use systems where trees are grown in combination with agriculture on the same land;

• (24) ‘repayable advance’ means a loan for a project which is paid in one or more instalments and the conditions for the reimbursement of which depend on the outcome of the project;

• (25) ‘start of works on the project or activity’ means the earlier of either the start of the activities or the construction works relating to the investment, or the first legally binding commitment to order equipment or employ services or any other commitment that makes the project or activity irreversible; buying land and preparatory works such as obtaining permits and conducting feasibility studies are not considered start of works or activity;

• (26) ‘large enterprises’ means undertakings not fulfilling the criteria laid down in Annex I;

• (27) ‘fiscal successor scheme’ means a scheme in the form of tax advantages which constitutes an amended version of a previously existing scheme in the form of tax advantages and which replaces it;

• (28) ‘aid intensity’ means the gross aid amount expressed as a percentage of the eligible costs, before any deduction of tax or other charge;

• (29) ‘date of granting the aid’ means the date when the legal right to receive the aid is conferred on the beneficiary under the applicable national legal regime;

• (30) ‘Union standard’ means mandatory standard laid down in Union legislation setting the level which individual undertakings must achieve, in particular as regards the environment, hygiene and animal welfare; however, standards or targets set at Union level which are binding for Member States but not for individual undertakings are not deemed to be Union standards;

• (31) ‘rural development programme’ means rural development programme as provided for in Article 6(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013;

• (32) ‘non-productive investment’ means investment which does not lead to a significant increase in the value or profitability of the holding;

• (33) ‘investments to comply with an Union standard’ means investments made to comply with an Union standard after the expiry of the transitional period provided for in Union legislation;

• (34) ‘young farmer’ means a person who is no more than 40 years of age on the date of submitting the aid application, possesses adequate occupational skills and competences and is setting up for the first time in an agricultural holding as a head of that holding;

• (35) ‘outermost regions’ means the regions referred to in the first paragraph of Article 349 of the Treaty;

• (36) ‘smaller Aegean islands’ means the smaller islands referred to in Article 1(2) of Regulation (EU) No 229/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council ([^E0004])^;

• (37) ‘less developed regions’ means regions where the gross domestic product (GDP) per capita is less than 75 % of average GDP of the EU-27;

• (38) ‘EU-25’ means the 25 Member States of the Union who were Member States of the Union in May 2005;

• (39) ‘EU-27’ means the 27 Member States of the Union who were Member States of the Union in January 2007;

• (40) ‘capital works’ means works, undertaken by the farmer personally or by the farmer's workers, that create an asset;

• (41) ‘food based biofuel’ means a biofuel produced from cereal and other starch rich crops, sugars and oil crops as defined in the Commission's Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 98/70/EC relating to the quality of petrol and diesel fuels and amending Directive 2009/28/EC on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources ([^E0005]);

• (42) ‘active farmer’ means an active farmer within the meaning of Article 9 of Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013 ([^E0006]) of the European Parliament and of the Council;

• (43) ‘producer group and organisation’ means a group or organisation set up for the purpose of:
• (a) adapting the production and output of producers who are members of such producer groups or organisations to market requirements; or
• (b) jointly placing goods on the market, including the preparation for sale, centralisation of sales and supply to bulk buyers; or
• (c) establishing common rules on production information, with particular regard to harvesting and availability; or
• (d) other activities that may be carried out by producer groups or organisations, such as the development of business and marketing skills and the organisation and facilitation of innovation processes;

• (44) ‘fixed costs arising from participation in quality scheme’ means the costs incurred for entering a supported quality scheme and the annual contribution for participating in that quality scheme, including, where necessary, expenditure on checks required to verify compliance with the specifications of the quality scheme;

• (45) ‘advice’ means complete advice given in the framework of one and the same contract;

• (46) ‘member of a farm household’ means a natural or legal person or a group of natural or legal persons, whatever legal status is granted to the group and its members by national law, with the exception of farm workers;

• (47) ‘Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy (TSE) and Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) test costs’ means all costs, including those for test kits and for the taking, transporting, testing, storing and destruction of samples necessary for sampling and laboratory testing in accordance with Chapter C of Annex X to Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council ([^E0007]);

• (48) ‘herd book’ means any book, register, file or data medium:
• (a) which is maintained by a breeders' organisation or association officially recognised by a Member State in which the breeders' organisation or association was constituted; and
• (b) in which pure-bred breeding animals of a given breed are entered or registered with mention of their ancestors;

• (49) ‘protected animal’ means any animal protected either by Union or by national legislation;

• (50) ‘research and knowledge-dissemination organisation’ means an entity (such as universities or research institutes, technology transfer agencies, innovation intermediaries, research-oriented physical or virtual collaborative entities), irrespective of its legal status (organised under public or private law) or way of financing, whose primary goal is to independently conduct fundamental research, industrial research or experimental development, or to widely disseminate the results of such activities by way of teaching, publication or knowledge transfer. Where such entity also pursues economic activities the financing, the costs and the revenues of those economic activities must be accounted for separately. Undertakings that can exert influence upon such an entity, in the quality of, for example, shareholders or members, may not enjoy a preferential access to its research capacities or to the results generated by it;

• (51) ‘arm's length’ means that the conditions of the transaction between the contracting parties do not differ from those which would be stipulated between independent undertakings and contain no element of collusion. Any transaction that results from an open, transparent and unconditional procedure is considered as meeting the arm's length principle;

• (52) ‘fast growing trees’ means a short rotation forest, where the minimum time before felling is set to be not less than 8 years and the maximum time before felling is set not to exceed 20 years;

• (53) ‘trees for short rotation coppicing’ means tree species of CN code 06 02 9041 to be defined by Member States that consist of woody, perennial crops, the rootstock or stools of which remain in the ground after harvesting, with new shoots emerging in the following season and with a maximum harvest cycle to be determined by the Member States;

• (54) ‘transaction cost’ means an additional cost linked to fulfilling a commitment, but not directly attributable to its implementation or not included in the costs or income foregone that are compensated directly; and which can be calculated on a standard cost basis;

• (55) ‘other land manager’ means an undertaking which manages land other than undertaking active in the agricultural sector;

• (56) ‘processing of agricultural products into non-agricultural products’ means any operation on an agricultural product resulting in a product which is not covered by Annex I to the Treaty;

• (57) ‘“a” areas’ means those areas designated in an approved regional aid map for the period from 1 July 2014 to 31 December 2020 in application of the provisions of Article 107(3)(a) of the Treaty;

• (58) ‘“c” areas’ means those areas designated in an approved regional aid map for the period 1 July 2014 to 31 December 2020 in application of the provisions of Article 107(3)(c) of the Treaty;

• (59) ‘sparsely populated areas’ means areas accepted by the Commission as such in the individual decisions on regional aid maps for the period from 1 July 2014 to 31 December 2020;

• (60) ‘NUTS 3 area’ means a region specified at level 3 of a common classification of territorial units for statistics in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1059/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council ([^E0008]);

• (61) ‘non-predefined “c” areas’ means areas that a Member State at its own discretion designates as ‘c’ areas provided that the Member State demonstrates that such areas fulfil certain socioeconomic criteria and that those areas are designated in an approved regional aid map for the period 1 July 2014 to 31 December 2020 in application of the provisions of Article 107(3)(c) of the Treaty;

• (62) ‘former “a” areas’ means those areas designated as ‘a’ areas in an approved regional map for the period from 1 January 2011 to 30 June 2014;

• (63) ‘foodstuffs’ means foodstuffs which are not agricultural products and which are listed in Annex I to Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council ([^E0009]).

Article 3

Conditions for exemption

Aid schemes, individual aid granted under aid schemes and ad hoc aid shall be compatible with the internal market within the meaning of Article 107(2) or (3) of the Treaty and shall be exempted from the notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the Treaty provided that such aid fulfils all the conditions laid down in Chapter I of this Regulation, as well as the specific conditions for the relevant category of aid laid down in Chapter III of this Regulation.

Article 4

Notification thresholds

• (a) aid for investments in tangible assets or intangible assets on agricultural holdings linked to primary agricultural production as referred to in Article 14: EUR 500 000 per undertaking per investment project;

• (b) aid for investments concerning the relocation of a farm building resulting in the modernisation of facilities or in an increase in production capacity as referred to in Article 16(4): EUR 500 000 per undertaking per investment project;

• (c) aid for investments in connection with the processing of agricultural products and the marketing of agricultural products as referred to in Article 17: EUR 7,5 million per undertaking per investment project;

• (d) aid for investments in favour of the conservation of cultural and natural heritage located on the agricultural holding as referred to in Article 29: EUR 500 000 per undertaking per investment project;

• (e) aid for research and development in the agricultural and forestry sectors as referred to in Article 31: EUR 7,5 million per project;

• (f) aid for afforestation and the creation of woodland as referred to in Article 32: EUR 7,5 million per establishment project;

• (g) aid for agroforestry systems as referred to Article 33: EUR 7,5 million per agroforestry system establishment project;

• (h) aid for investments improving the resilience and environmental value of forest ecosystems as referred to in Article 35: EUR 7,5 million per investment project;

• (i) aid for investments in infrastructure related to the development, modernisation or adaptation of the forestry sector as referred to in Article 40: EUR 7,5 million per investment project;

• (j) aid for investments in forestry technologies and in the processing, mobilising and marketing of forestry products as referred to in Article 41: EUR 7,5 million per investment project;

• (k) aid for investments concerning the processing of agricultural products into non-agricultural products or the production of cotton as referred to in Article 44: EUR 7,5 million per investment project.

Article 5

Transparency of aid

• (a) aid comprised in grants and interest rate subsidies;

• (b) aid comprised in loans, where the gross grant equivalent has been calculated on the basis of the reference rate prevailing at the time of the grant;

• (c) aid comprised in guarantees:
• (i) where the gross grant equivalent has been calculated on the basis of safe-harbour premiums laid down in a Commission Notice; or
• (ii) where before the implementation of the aid, the methodology to calculate the gross grant equivalent of the guarantee has been accepted on the basis of the Commission Notice on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to State aid in the form of guarantees, or any successor notice, following notification of that methodology to the Commission under any regulation adopted by the Commission in the State aid area applicable at the time, and the approved methodology explicitly addresses the type of guarantee and the type of underlying transaction at stake in the context of the application of this Regulation;

• (d) aid in the form of tax advantages, where the measure provides for a cap ensuring that the applicable threshold is not exceeded;

• (e) aid in the form of repayable advances, if the total nominal amount of the repayable advance does not exceed the thresholds applicable under this Regulation or if, before implementation of the measure, the methodology to calculate the gross grant equivalent of the repayable advance has been accepted following its notification to the Commission.

• (a) aid comprised in capital injections;

• (b) aid comprised in risk finance measures.

Article 6

Incentive effect

• (a) undertaking's name and size;

• (b) description of the project or the activity, including its start and end dates;

• (c) location of the project or the activity;

• (d) list of eligible costs;

• (e) type (grant, loan, guarantee, repayable advance or other) and amount of public funding needed for the project/activity.

• (a) a material increase in the scope of the project or activity due to the aid;

• (b) a material increase in the total amount spent by the beneficiary on the project or activity due to the aid;

• (c) a material increase in the speed of completion of the project or activity concerned;

• (d) in the case of investment ad hoc aid, that the project or activity would not have been carried out as such in the rural area concerned or would not have been sufficiently profitable for the beneficiary in the rural area concerned in the absence of the aid.

• (a) the measure establishes a right to aid in accordance with objective criteria and without further exercise of discretion by the Member State; and

• (b) the measure has been adopted and in force before work on the aided project or activity has started, except in in the case of fiscal successor schemes where the activity was already covered by the previous schemes in the form of tax advantages.

• (a) aid schemes for land consolidation where the conditions laid down in Article 15 or Article 43 are fulfilled and where:
• (i) the aid scheme establishes a right to aid in accordance with objective criteria and without further exercise of discretion by the Member State; and
• (ii) the aid scheme has been adopted and in force before eligible costs under Article 15 or Article 43 are incurred by the beneficiary;

• (b) aid for promotion measures in the form of publications aimed at raising awareness of agricultural products among the wider public where the conditions laid down in Article 24(2)(b) are fulfilled;

• (c) aid to compensate for losses caused by adverse climatic event which can be assimilated to a natural disaster where the conditions laid down in Article 25 are fulfilled;

• (d) aid to compensate for the costs of the eradication of animal diseases and plant pests and for losses caused by those animal diseases or plant pests where the conditions laid down in Article 26(9) and (10) are fulfilled;

• (e) aid to cover the costs of the removal and destruction of fallen stock where the conditions laid down in Article 27(1)(c), (d) and (e) are fulfilled;

• (f) aid for investments in favour of the conservation of cultural and natural heritage located on agricultural holdings in accordance with Article 29;

• (g) aid to make good the damage caused by natural disasters where the conditions laid down in Article 30 are fulfilled;

• (h) aid for research and development in the agricultural and forestry sectors where the conditions laid down in Article 31 are fulfilled;

• (i) aid for the restoration of damage to forests from fires, natural disasters, adverse climatic events, plant pests, animal diseases, catastrophic events and climate change related events in accordance with Article 34(5)(d) where the conditions laid down in Article 34 are fulfilled;

• (j) aid for the participation of active farmers in quality schemes for cotton and foodstuffs where the conditions laid down in Article 48 are fulfilled.

Article 7

Aid intensity and eligible costs

Article 8

Cumulation

• (a) any other State aid, as long as those measures concern different identifiable eligible costs;

• (b) any other State aid, in relation to the same eligible costs, partly or fully overlapping, only if such cumulation does not result in exceeding the highest aid intensity or aid amount applicable to this aid under this Regulation.

Aid without identifiable eligible costs may be cumulated with other State aid without identifiable eligible costs, up to the highest relevant total financing threshold fixed in the specific circumstances of each case by this or another block exemption regulation or decision adopted by the Commission.

Start-up aid for young farmers and start-up aid for the development of small farms as referred to in Article 18 of this Regulation shall not be cumulated with business start-up aid for young farmers or the development of small farms as referred to in Article 19(1)(a)(i) and (iii) of Regulation (EU) No 1305/20013 if such cumulation would result in an aid amount exceeding those laid down in this Regulation.

Article 9

Publication and information

Within 10 working days of receipt of that summary information, the Commission shall send to the Member State a notice of receipt with an identification number of the aid.

• (a) the summary information referred to in paragraph 1 or a link to it;

• (b) the full text of each aid referred to in paragraph 1, including its amendments, or a link providing access to the full text;

• (c) the information referred to in Annex III to this Regulation on each individual aid award exceeding the following:
• (i) EUR 60 000 for beneficiaries active in the primary agricultural production;
• (ii) EUR 500 000 for beneficiaries active in the sectors of the processing of agricultural products, the marketing of agricultural products, the forestry sector or activities falling outside the scope of Article 42 of the Treaty.

• (a) 0,06-0,5 only for primary agricultural production;

• (b) 0,5-1;

• (c) 1 to 2;

• (d) 2 to 5;

• (e) 5 to 10;

• (f) 10 to 30; and

• (g) 30 and more.

• (a) the summary information referred to in paragraph 1;

• (b) the links to the State aid websites of all Member States referred to in paragraph 2.

Article 10

Avoidance of double publication

If the individual aid award falls within the scope of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 and is either co-financed by the EAFRD or granted as additional national financing for such co-financed measures, the Member State may choose not to publish it on the State aid website referred to in Article 9(2) of this Regulation, provided that the individual aid award has already been published in accordance with Articles 111, 112 and 113 of Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 of the European Parliament and the Council ([^E0011]). In that case, the Member State shall make a reference to the website referred to in Article 111 of Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 on the State aid website referred to Article 9(2) of this Regulation.

CHAPTER II PROCEDURAL REQUIREMENTS

Article 11

Withdrawal of the benefit of the block exemption

Where the Member State grants aid allegedly exempted from the notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the Treaty under this Regulation without fulfilling the conditions set out in Chapters I to III, the Commission may, after having provided the Member State concerned with the possibility to make its views known, adopt a decision stating that all or some of the future aid measures adopted by the Member State concerned which would otherwise fulfil the requirements of this Regulation, are to be notified to the Commission in accordance with Article 108(3) of the Treaty. The aids to be notified may be limited to certain types of aids, to aid granted in favour of certain beneficiaries or to aid adopted by certain authorities of the Member State concerned.

Article 12

Reporting

• (a) animal diseases or plant pest as referred to in Article 26;

• (b) meteorological information on the type, timing, relative magnitude and location of climatic events which can be assimilated to a natural disaster as referred to in Article 25 or natural disasters in the agricultural sector as referred to in Article 30.

Article 13

Monitoring

Member States shall maintain detailed records with the information and supporting documentation necessary to establish that all the conditions laid down in this Regulation are fulfilled. Such records shall be kept for 10 years from the date on which the ad hoc aid was granted or the last aid was granted under an aid scheme. The Member State concerned shall provide the Commission, within a period of 20 working days or such longer period as may be fixed in the request, with all the information and supporting documentation which the Commission considers necessary to monitor the application of this Regulation.

CHAPTER III CATEGORIES OF AID

SECTION 1 Aid in favour of SMEs active in primary agricultural production, the processing of agricultural products and the marketing of agricultural products

Article 14

Aid for investments in tangible assets or intangible assets on agricultural holdings linked to primary agricultural production

• (a) the improvement of the overall performance and sustainability of the agricultural holding, in particular through a reduction of production costs or the improvement and re-deployment of production;

• (b) the improvement of the natural environment, hygiene conditions or animal welfare standards, provided that the investment concerned goes beyond Union standards in force;

• (c) the creation and improvement of infrastructure related to the development, adaptation and modernisation of agriculture, including access to farm land, land consolidation and improvement, the supply and saving of energy and water;

• (d) the achievement of agri-environmental-climate objectives, including the biodiversity conservation status of species and habitat as well as enhancing the public amenity value of a Natura 2000 area or other high nature value systems, defined in the national or regional rural development programmes of Member States, as long as investments are non-productive;

• (e) the restoration of production potential damaged by natural disasters, adverse climatic events which can be assimilated to natural disasters, animal diseases and plant pests and the prevention of damages caused by those events.

Where the investment is made for the production of biofuels, the production capacity of the production facilities shall be no more than the equivalent to the annual average transport fuel consumption of the agricultural holding and the produced biofuel shall not be sold on the market.

Where the investment is made for the production of thermal energy and electricity from renewable sources on agricultural holdings, the production facilities shall serve only the beneficiary's own energy needs and their production capacity shall be no more than the equivalent to the combined average annual energy consumption of thermal energy and electricity on the agricultural holding, including the farm household. The selling of electricity into the grid shall only be allowed as far as the annual self-consumption limit is respected.

Where the investment is carried out by more beneficiaries with the purpose to serve their own biofuel and energy needs, the annual average consumption shall be accumulated to the amount equivalent to the average annual consumption of all beneficiaries.

The investments in renewable energy infrastructure that consume or produce energy shall comply with minimum standards for energy efficiency, where such standards exist at national level.

Investments in installations, the primary purpose of which is electricity production from biomass, shall not be eligible for aid unless a minimum percentage of heat energy, to be determined by the Member States, is utilised.

Member States shall establish thresholds for the maximum proportions of cereals and other starch rich crops, sugars and oil crops used for bioenergy production, including biofuels, for different types of installations. Aid to bioenergy investment projects shall be limited to bioenergy meeting the applicable sustainability criteria laid down in Union legislation, including in Article 17(2) to (6) of Directive 2009/28/EC.

• (a) the costs for the construction, acquisition, including leasing, or improvement of immovable property, with land only being eligible to an extent not exceeding 10 % of the total eligible costs of the operation concerned;

• (b) the purchase or lease purchase of machinery and equipment up to the market value of the asset;

• (c) the general costs linked to the expenditure referred to in points (a) and (b), such as architect, engineer and consultation fees, fees relating to advice on environmental and economic sustainability, including feasibility studies; feasibility studies shall remain eligible expenditure even where, based on their results, no expenditure under points (a) and (b) is incurred;

• (d) the acquisition or development of computer software and the acquisition of patents, licences, copyrights and trademarks;

• (e) expenses for non-productive investments linked to the objectives referred to in paragraph 3(d);

• (f) in the case of irrigation, the costs for investments that fulfil the following conditions:
• (i) a river basin management plan, as required by Article 13 of Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council ([^E0012]), must have been notified to the Commission for the entire area in which the investment is to take place, as well as in any other areas whose environment may be affected by the investment. The measures taking effect under the river basin management plan in accordance with Article 11 of that Directive and of relevance to the agricultural sector must be specified in the relevant programme of measures. Water metering enabling measurement of water use at the level of the supported investment must be in place or must be put in place as part of the investment;
• (ii) the investment must lead to a reduction of previous water use of at least 25 %; However, as regards point (f) investments affecting bodies of ground- or surface water whose status has been identified as less than good in the relevant river basin management plan for reasons related to water quantity as well as investments resulting in a net increase of the irrigated area affecting a given body of ground- or surface water shall not be eligible for aid under this Article. The conditions of point (f) (i) and (ii) above shall not apply to an investment in an existing installation which affects only energy efficiency or to an investment in the creation of a reservoir or to an investment in the use of recycled water which does not affect a body of ground- or surface water;

• (g) in the case of investments aimed at the restoration of agricultural production potential damaged by natural disasters, adverse climatic events which can be assimilated to natural disasters, animal diseases or plant pests the eligible costs may include the costs incurred for restoring the agricultural production potential up to the level it was at before the occurrence of those events;

• (h) in the case of investments aimed at the prevention of damages caused by natural disasters, adverse climatic events which can be assimilated to natural disasters, animal diseases or plant pests, the eligible costs may include the costs of specific preventive actions.

Working capital shall not be considered to be an eligible cost.

• (a) the purchase of production rights, payment entitlements and annual plants;

• (b) the planting of annual plants;

• (c) drainage works;

• (d) investments to comply with Union standards, with exception of aid granted to young farmers within 24 months from the date of their setting-up;

• (e) the purchase of animals, with exception of aid granted for investments pursuant to paragraph 3(e).

• (a) 75 % of the amount of the eligible costs in outermost regions;

• (b) 75 % of the amount of the eligible costs in the smaller Aegean islands;

• (c) 50 % of the amount of the eligible costs in less developed regions and in all regions whose GDP per capita for the period from 1 January 2007 to 31 December 2013 was less than 75 % of the average of the EU-25 for the reference period but whose GDP per capita is above 75 % of the GDP average of the EU-27;

• (d) 40 % of the amount of the eligible costs in other regions.

• (a) young farmers, or farmers who have set up during the five years preceding the date of application for aid;

• (b) collective investments, such as storage facilities which are used by a group of farmers or facilities to prepare the agricultural products before marketing, and integrated projects covering several measures provided for in Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013, including those linked to a merger of producer organisations;

• (c) investments in areas facing natural and other specific constraints;

• (d) operations supported in the framework of the European Innovation Partnership (EIP), such as an investment in a new stable, allowing the testing of a new practice of animal housing, which has been developed in an operational group composed of farmers, scientists, and animal welfare non-governmental organisation;

• (e) investments for the improvement of the natural environment, hygiene conditions or animal welfare standards, as referred to in paragraph 3(b); in this case the increased rate as provided for in this paragraph shall only apply to the additional costs necessary to obtain a level exceeding the Union standards in force and not leading to an increase in production capacity.

For investments in relation to preventive measures, referred to in paragraph 3(e), the maximum aid intensity shall not exceed 80 %. However, it may be increased to up to 100 % if the investment is carried out collectively by more than one beneficiary.

Article 15

Aid for agricultural land consolidation

Aid for agricultural land consolidation shall be compatible with the internal market within the meaning of Article 107(3)(c) of the Treaty and shall be exempted from the notification requirement of Article 108(3) thereof where it fulfils the conditions laid down in Chapter I and is granted towards and limited to the legal and administrative costs, including survey costs, up to 100 % of the real costs incurred.

Article 16

Aid for investments concerning the relocation of farm buildings

The public interest invoked to justify the granting of aid under this Article shall be specified in the relevant provisions of the Member State concerned.

For the purpose of this paragraph, the pure replacement of an existing building or facilities by a new up-to-date building or facilities without fundamentally changing the production or the technology involved shall not be considered to be related to the modernisation.

Article 17

Aid for investments in connection with the processing of agricultural products and the marketing of agricultural products

• (a) the construction, acquisition, including leasing, or improvement of immovable property, with land only being eligible to an extent not exceeding 10 % of total eligible costs of the operation concerned;

• (b) the purchase or lease purchase of machinery and equipment up to the market value of the asset;

• (c) general costs linked to expenditure referred to in points (a) and (b), such as architect, engineer and consultation fees, fees relating to advice on environmental and economic sustainability, including feasibility studies; feasibility studies shall remain eligible expenditure even where, based on their results, no expenditure under in points (a) and (b) is incurred;

• (d) acquisition or development of computer software and acquisitions of patents, licenses, copyrights, trademarks.

Working capital shall not be considered to be an eligible cost.

• (a) 75 % of the amount of the eligible costs in outermost regions;

• (b) 75 % of the amount of the eligible costs in the smaller Aegean islands;

• (c) 50 % of the amount of the eligible costs in less developed regions and in all regions whose GDP per capita for the 2007-2013 period was less than 75 % of the average of the EU-25 for the reference period but whose GDP per capita is above 75 % of the GDP average of the EU-27;

• (d) 40 % of the amount of the eligible costs in other regions.

• (a) linked to a merger of producer organisations; or

• (b) supported in the framework of the EIP.

Article 18

Start-up aid for young farmers and the development of small farms

The definition of small farms by the Member States shall be the one included and approved by the Commission in the respective rural development programmes.

Member States shall define upper and lower thresholds for access to start-up aid for young farmers and the development of small farms in terms of the production potential of the agricultural holding, measured in standard output, as defined in Article 5 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1242/2008 ([^E0013]), or an equivalent. The lower threshold for access to start-up aid for young farmers shall be higher than the upper threshold for access to aid for the development of small farms.

Aid shall be limited to micro and small enterprises.

The business plan shall describe at least the following:

• (a) in the case of start-up aid to young farmers:
• (i) the initial situation of the agricultural holding;
• (ii) milestones and targets for the development of the activities of the agricultural holding;
• (iii) details of the actions, including those related to environmental sustainability and resource efficiency, required for the development of the activities of the agricultural holding, such as investments, training, advice;

• (b) in the case of start-up aid for the development of small farms:
• (i) the initial situation of the agricultural holding;
• (ii) details of actions, including those related to environmental sustainability and resource efficiency, that could support the achievement of economic viability, such as investments, training, cooperation.

For young farmers, the last aid tranche or instalment of the aid shall be conditional upon the correct implementation of the business plan referred to in paragraph 4(a).

The aid amount per small farm shall be limited to EUR 15 000 .

Article 19

Start-up aid for producer groups and organisations in the agricultural sector

• (a) production organisations, entities or bodies such as companies or cooperatives, the objective of which is the management of one or more agricultural holdings and which are therefore in effect single producers;

• (b) agricultural associations, which undertake tasks such as mutual support and farm relief and farm management services, in the members' holdings without being involved in the joint adaptation of supply to the market;

• (c) producer groups, organisations or associations the objectives of which are incompatible with Article 152(1)(c) and (3) and Article 156 of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013.

Where premises are purchased, the eligible costs for premises shall be limited to rental costs at market rates.

Member States shall only pay the last instalment after having verified the correct implementation of that business plan.

The aid shall be degressive.

Article 20

Aid for the participation of producers of agricultural products in quality schemes

• (a) aid for new participation in quality schemes where it fulfils the conditions laid down in paragraphs 2 to and 6 of this Article and in Chapter I;