Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2018/1145 of 7 June 2018 amending Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/891 as regards producer organisations in the fruit and vegetables sector

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 establishing a common organisation of the markets in agricultural products and repealing Council Regulations (EEC) No 922/72, (EEC) No 234/79, (EC) No 1037/2001 and (EC) No 1234/2007 (1), and in particular Article 37 thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/891 (2) supplements Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 with regard to the fruit and vegetables and processed fruit and vegetables sectors. Regulation (EU) 2017/2393 of the European Parliament and of the Council (3) has amended Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 in particular as regards the aid to the producer organisations in the fruit and vegetables sector. Therefore, Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/891 should reflect the amendments to the relevant provisions of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013.

(2) Provisions on national financial assistance in the fruit and vegetables sector should be updated.

(3) Provisions concerning the cases in which producer members of a producer organisation should be allowed to sell a certain percentage of their products outside the producer organisation where the producer organisation so authorises in its statutes and where this is in compliance with the terms and conditions of the Member State need to be clarified. The threshold of the sales outside the producer organisation needs to be clarified.

(4) New measures on coaching between producer organisations and on replenishment of mutual funds in operational programmes should be eligible for Union financial assistance.

(5) Member States may continue to provide national financial assistance from national budget to producer organisations in regions of the Union where the organisation degree is particularly low. Consequently, conditions under which national financial assistance may be granted in the fruit and vegetables sector as well as the method of calculation of the degree of organisation referred to in Article 34(3) of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 should be laid down to avoid distortions of the internal market in the Union.

(6) Provisions concerning eligibility of certain investments for Union financial assistance need to be clarified.

(7) Eligible and non-eligible actions related to promotion and communication, including actions and activities aimed at diversification and consolidation on the fruit and vegetable markets, whether for prevention of a crisis or during a crisis period, need to be clarified as regards the eligibility of actions and activities for Union financial assistance.

(8) Provisions relating to the annual reports on producer organisations, associations of producers organisations, including transnational associations of producer organisations, and producer groups, and on operational funds, operational programmes and recognition plans should be simplified. They need to enable the Commission to adequately monitor the sector.

(9) Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/891 should therefore be amended accordingly.

(10) Transitional provisions should be laid down to ensure a smooth transition from the existing requirements, measures and actions laid down in Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/891 to the new ones provided for in this Regulation.

(11) This Regulation should apply from the same date as Regulation (EU) 2017/2393. However, the provisions concerning national financial assistance, indicators and monitoring should apply from 1 January 2019 to allow Member States and economic operators time to adapt to the new rules,

(12) The conditions for the application of the new measures and actions eligible for Union financial assistance set out in Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 should apply from the date of application of the amendments to that Regulation introduced by Regulation (EU) 2017/2393 to ensure market stability for producer organisations and their members, in particular given that those measures concern mainly crisis management and prevention and to enable them to fully benefit from the new measures. To safeguard legitimate expectations, producer organisations may choose to continue the ongoing operational programmes under the rules applicable at the time of the approval of the programmes or to modify their operational programmes to benefit from the new measures and actions eligible for Union financial assistance, as set out in Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Amendments to Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/891

Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/891 is amended as follows:

(3) in Article 22, paragraph 10 is replaced as follows: ‘10.   Where a reduction in production occurs due to a natural disaster, climatic event, animal or plant diseases or pest infestations, any insurance indemnification received in respect of harvest insurance actions covered by Section 7 of Chapter III, or equivalent actions managed by the producer organisation or its producer members, due to those causes may be included in the value of marketed production.’;

(4) in Article 30, paragraph 2 is replaced by the following: ‘2.   Producer organisations or associations of producer organisations which have been granted the support provided in Article 27 of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 or Article 19 of Commission Regulation (EU) No 702/2014(2) may implement an operational programme in the same period provided that the Member State concerned ensures that the beneficiaries receive support for any given action only under one scheme. (2)  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 (OJ L 193, 1.7.2014, p. 1).’;"

(5) in the first subparagraph of Article 31(6), the first sentence is replaced by the following: ‘Investments, including those under leasing contracts, may be financed through the operational fund in one amount or in instalments that were approved in the operational programme.’;

(6) in Chapter III of Title II, Section 3 is replaced by the following: ‘ Section 3

(9) Article 56 is replaced by the following: ‘Article 56 Indicators

(11) Annex II, III and V are amended in accordance with the Annex to this Regulation.

Article 2

Transitional provisions

Without prejudice to Article 34 of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/891, an operational programme approved under Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 543/2011 (4) or Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/891 before 20 January 2018 shall continue to operate until its end under the conditions applicable before 1 January 2018.

However, at the request of a producer organisation or association of producer organisations, Member States may approve amendments of operational programme approved under Implementing Regulation (EU) No 543/2011 or Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/891 before 20 January 2018. Those amendments shall comply with the requirements of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 as amended by Regulation (EU) 2017/2393, of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/891 as amended by Article 1 of this Regulation and of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/892 as amended by Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/1146 (5).

Article 3

Entry into force and application

This Regulation shall enter into force the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

It shall apply from 1 January 2018.

However, points (8), (9) and (10) of Article 1 and point (3) of the Annex shall apply from 1 January 2019.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 7 June 2018.

For the Commission The President Jean-Claude JUNCKER

(1) OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 671.

(2) Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/891 of 13 March 2017 supplementing Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to the fruit and vegetables and processed fruit and vegetables sectors and supplementing Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to penalties to be applied in those sectors and amending Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 543/2011 (OJ L 138, 25.5.2017, p. 4).

(3) Regulation (EU) 2017/2393 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2017 amending Regulations (EU) No 1305/2013 on support for rural development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD), (EU) No 1306/2013 on the financing, management and monitoring of the common agricultural policy, (EU) No 1307/2013 establishing rules for direct payments to farmers under support schemes within the framework of the common agricultural policy, (EU) No 1308/2013 establishing a common organisation of the markets in agricultural products and (EU) No 652/2014 laying down provisions for the management of expenditure relating to the food chain, animal health and animal welfare, and relating to plant health and plant reproductive material (OJ L 350, 29.12.2017, p. 15).

(4) Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 543/2011 of 7 June 2011 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 in respect of the fruit and vegetables and processed fruit and vegetables sectors (OJ L 157, 15.6.2011, p. 1).

(5) Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/1146 of 7 June 2018 amending Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/892 laying down rules for the application of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to the fruit and vegetables and processed fruit and vegetables sectors and Regulation (EC) No 606/2009 laying down certain detailed rules for implementing Council Regulation (EC) No 479/2008 as regards the categories of grapevine products, oenological practices and the applicable restrictions (see page 9 of this Official Journal).