Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1475 of 6 September 2022 laying down detailed rules for implementation of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the evaluation of the CAP Strategic Plans and the provision of information for monitoring and evaluation

TITLE I

EVALUATION OF CAP STRATEGIC PLANS

Article 1

Assessment of evaluation criteria

Article 2

Evaluations of CAP Strategic Plans during the implementation period

Member States shall carry out the evaluations of their CAP Strategic Plans during the implementing period referred to in Article 140(1) of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 as follows:

(a) Member States shall plan the evaluations of the specific objectives referred to in Article 6(1) and (2) of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 which are addressed in their CAP Strategic Plans, in accordance with the CAP Strategic Plan’s intervention logic, by objective or by comprehensive evaluations covering several objectives, or provide a justification of why a specific objective has not been evaluated during the implementing period;

(b) Member States shall assess their CAP Strategic Plans using the relevant evaluation criteria and assess the impacts of their CAP Strategic Plans taking into account the scope, the type and the uptake of the CAP Strategic Plan’s interventions;

(c) where relevant, Member States shall take into account the territorial scope of interventions, particularly for those interventions not implemented at national level, but at regional or local level;

(d) where relevant, based on Member States’ evaluation needs and taking into account the CAP Strategic Plan’s intervention logic and implementation, Member States shall assess also specific interventions or topics of the CAP Strategic Plans, such as the environmental and climate architecture referred to in Article 109(2), point (a), of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115, added value of LEADER as defined in Article 3, point (15), of that Regulation, CAP networks referred to in Article 126 of that Regulation or the Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System (AKIS) defined in Article 3, point (9), of that Regulation;

(e) Member States shall carry out evaluations in time to be able to prepare the subsequent CAP Strategic Plan’s period. Where relevant, Member States shall use also data of the previous programming period.

Article 3

Ex post evaluations of CAP Strategic Plans

Article 4

Evaluation plan

Article 5

Reporting evaluation activities and findings

Member States shall share the information on evaluation activities and findings referred to in Articles 124(3), point (d), and 124(4), point (c), of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 with the Commission after the examination by the monitoring committee, including the result of that examination, no later than one month before the annual review meeting referred to in Article 136 of that Regulation.

Article 6

Assessment of the contribution of CAP Strategic Plans

Article 7

Data and technical support for evaluations

TITLE II

DATA FOR PERFORMING THE MONITORING AND EVALUATION OF CAP STRATEGIC PLANS

Article 8

Scope of the data to be provided by Member States

In accordance with Articles 9 to 18, Member States shall report to the Commission the following information, necessary to enable it to perform the monitoring and evaluation of the CAP:

(a) disaggregated data on interventions and beneficiaries;

(b) the ratio of permanent grassland established each year pursuant to Article 48(2) of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/126 (²);

(ba) data on temporary derogations granted by Member States pursuant to Article 13(2a) of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115;

(c) data on interventions in certain sectors, referred to in Title III, Chapter III, of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115;

(d) data on EIP operational groups referred to in Article 127(3) of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115;

(e) data on LAGs and their activities for LEADER as defined in Article 3, point (15), of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115.

Article 9

Disaggregated data on interventions

Article 10

Disaggregated data on beneficiaries

Article 11

Ratio of permanent grassland

The ratio of permanent grassland referred to in Article 8, point (b), of this Regulation shall be notified at the level established by the Member States in accordance with Article 48(2), second subparagraph, of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/126.

Article 11a

Data on temporary derogations from requirements of GAEC standards

The data on temporary derogations from requirements of GAEC standards, granted by Member States pursuant to Article 13(2a) of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115, shall include the following information for each derogation granted:

(a) the GAEC standard and requirement concerned by the temporary derogation;

(b) the reasons for the temporary derogation;

(c) the change to the on farm practice granted by the temporary derogation;

(d) the territorial scope of the temporary derogation;

(e) the area covered by the temporary derogation (in hectares);

(f) the number of farmers and other beneficiaries concerned by the temporary derogation;

(g) the types of farmers and other beneficiaries covered by the temporary derogation;

(h) the duration of the temporary derogation.

Article 12

Data on interventions in certain sectors

Article 13

Data on EIP operational groups

Article 14

Data on LAGs and their activities for LEADER

Article 15

Date and frequency of data transmission

In 2024, Member States may report the disaggregated data on interventions by 30 November 2024 in relation to interventions paid in the agricultural financial year 2023. If Member States do not report the disaggregated data on interventions in 2024, they shall report them in 2025 in accordance with the first subparagraph of this paragraph.

By way of derogation from the first subparagraph of this paragraph, the data on beneficiaries related to area declared and to the land in good agricultural and environmental conditions shall be reported, in the year N, in relation to interventions for which payments have been claimed in the calendar year N-2.

Member States shall report annually the data on interventions in certain sectors referred to in Article 8, point (c), by:

(a) 15 June of the year N in relation to data of the calendar year N-1 referred to in points 1, 2(a) and (c), and 3 to 7 of Annex V;

(b) 31 January of the year N in relation to data of the calendar year N referred to in point 2(b) of Annex V;

(c) 15 June of the year N in relation to data of the financial year N-1 referred to in points 8 to 10 of Annex V.

The first year of reporting shall be 2023 for data referred to in point 1 and 2(b) of Annex V, 2024 for data referred to in points 2(a) and (c), and 3 to 7 of that Annex and 2025 for data referred to in points 8 to 10 of that Annex.

By way of derogation from the first and second subparagraphs of this paragraph, for the apiculture sector, the following shall apply:

(a) Member States shall report every 2 years the data referred to in points 5 and 6 of Annex V;

(b) data referred to in point 5 of Annex V shall cover the calendar year preceding the year of reporting;

(c) data referred to in point 6 of Annex V shall cover the two calendar years preceding the year of reporting;

(d) the first year of reporting shall be 2023 for data referred to in points 4, 5 and 6 of Annex V and 2024 for point 9 of that Annex. In 2023, the data referred to in points 5 and 6 of Annex V may be reported by 15 September.

Member States shall report data on LAGs and their activities for LEADER referred to in Article 8, point (e), as follows:

(a) by 30 April 2026 in relation to operations paid in the financial years from 2023 to 2025, cumulatively; and

(b) by 30 April 2030 in relation to operations paid in the financial years from 2023 to 2029, cumulatively.

By way of derogation from the first subparagraph of this paragraph, data related to LAG variables set out in Annex VII, point 1, shall be reported by 30 April of year N for the LAGs selected by 31 December of year N-1.

Article 16

Data transfer

The data referred to in Article 8, point (c), shall be transferred to the Commission by means of the information-technology-based system made available by the Commission pursuant to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/1185 (⁵).

Article 17

Duly completed data

Member States shall ensure that the data for monitoring and evaluation referred to in Article 8 are complete and self-consistent, as well as that their content is recorded and presented in accordance with the requirements set out in Annexes IV to VII. To that end Member States shall perform computer based checks.

Article 18

Data checks and data correction

Article 19

Data use

The Commission shall not divulge or use the personal data obtained pursuant to this Regulation for purposes other than fulfilling its responsibilities in the context of the performance framework pursuant to Title VII, Chapter I, of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115, and monitoring and evaluating the CAP pursuant to Article 143 of that Regulation.

TITLE III

FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 20

Entry into force

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

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

ANNEX I

Objective	Key elements to assess	Recommended factors of success
To support viable farm income and resilience of the agricultural sector across the Union in order to enhance long-term food security and agricultural diversity as well as to ensure the economic sustainability of agricultural production in the Union	Viable farm income Viable farm income means not only stable income but also fairly distributed income.	Agricultural income level in farms supported is increasing or, at least, is stable and disparities between farms and to other economic sectors are decreasing, taking into account general economy trends.
Resilience Resilience encompasses supporting farmers facing potential risks and specific limitations which can force them to stop agricultural activity.	Income support is distributed to farmers most in need.
To enhance market orientation and increase farm competitiveness both in the short and long term, including greater focus on research, technology and digitalisation	Enhanced market orientation Based on agri-food trade balance (import-export).	Agri-food trade is increasing.
Farm competitiveness Based on increased capital, labour and land productivity through innovation.	Productivity in farms supported is increasing.
To improve the farmers’ position in the value chain	Farmer’s position in the food chain Integration of farmers within the food chain and participating in quality schemes and organic production to increase added value.	Share of marketed production by quality schemes and organic production is increasing. Share of marketed production by producer organisations (POs) and other forms of farmers organisations supported is increasing. Gross added value for farmers in POs and other forms of farmer organisations or participating in quality schemes and organic production is increasing.
To contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation, including by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and enhancing carbon sequestration, as well as promote sustainable energy	Climate change mitigation Based on greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and carbon sequestration.	GHG emissions in agriculture are decreasing. Soil organic carbon sequestration is increasing or maintained. Renewal energy production capacity is increasing.
Climate change adaptation Based on the resilience of agriculture to climate change.	Resilience of agriculture to climate change is increasing.
To foster sustainable development and efficient management of natural resources such as water, soil and air, including by reducing chemical dependency	Efficient management of natural resources Based on preserving or enhancing natural resources quality and quantity by reducing pollutants and exploitation.	Ammonia emissions in agriculture, nutrient leakage and soil erosion are decreasing. Nutrient balance on agricultural land is improving, thus reducing nutrient losses. Pressure on natural water reservoirs is decreasing. The use and risk of chemical pesticides and the use of more hazardous pesticides is decreasing.
To contribute to halting and reversing biodiversity loss, enhance ecosystem services and preserve habitats and landscapes	Reversing biodiversity loss Based on biodiversity and habitats in agricultural land or other areas affected by agricultural or forestry practices.	Biodiversity related to agricultural land is improving or, at least, biodiversity loss is halted. Biodiversity in Natura 2000 areas affected by agriculture or forestry is improving or, at least, biodiversity loss is halted. Agro-biodiversity is increasing.
Ecosystem services Based on landscape features that contribute to ecosystem services by hosting relevant species (e.g. through pollination, pest control), by biophysical processes (e.g. through erosion control, water quality maintenance), or by cultural values (e.g. aesthetic value).	Trends of pollinators are improving, or, at least, stable. The area covered by landscape features in agricultural land is increasing or maintained.
To attract and sustain young farmers and other new farmers and facilitate sustainable business development in rural areas	Farmers renewal Based on supporting young farmers and new farmers setting up and continuity.	Number of young and new farmers are increasing.
Business development Based on supporting rural business start-ups and farm diversification.	Number of rural business are increasing.
To promote employment, growth, gender equality, including the participation of women in farming, social inclusion and local development in rural areas, including circular bio-economy and sustainable forestry	Rural sustainable economy Based on economic growth and promoting employment.	Rural areas’ economy is growing or, at least, is stable and urban-rural gap is decreasing. Employment rate in rural areas is improving. Bio-economy related business are increasing. Sustainable forestry is increasing.
Local development Provision of local services and infrastructure.	Local services and infrastructures are improving.
Gender equality and social inclusion Promotion of participation of women in farming and the economy, income equity and poverty reduction.	Women employment and participation in farming is improving. CAP Strategic Plan support is more fairly distributed. Rural poverty is decreasing.
To improve the response of Union agriculture to societal demands on food and health, including high quality, safe, and nutritious food produced in a sustainable way, the reduction of food waste, as well as improving animal welfare and combatting antimicrobial resistances	Quality and safety food Based on fostering quality schemes, promoting animal welfare and combatting antimicrobial resistance.	Value of production marketed under quality schemes is increasing. Animal welfare is improving and antimicrobial use is decreasing.
Modernising the sector by fostering and sharing knowledge, innovation and digitalisation in agriculture and rural areas and by encouraging their uptake by farmers, through improved access to research, innovation, knowledge exchange and training	Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation system (AKIS) and digital strategy Based on the support to AKIS strategic actions, the AKIS related interventions, and the digital strategy and their impact on innovation uptake by farmers.	An increasing number of farmers participate in training programmes and/or make use of farm advice. Farmers change farming practices after participating in training programmes and/or making use of farm advice. An increasing number of farmers are supported for digital farming technology through CAP Strategic Plan. CAP Strategic Plan’s expenditure supporting creation of innovation and knowledge sharing is increasing.

ANNEX II

1. Objectives and needs

A statement of the objectives of the evaluation plan and evaluation related needs, aimed to ensure that sufficient and appropriate evaluation activities are undertaken, in particular to provide information needed for programme steering, to inform next policy programme period, and to ensure that data needed for CAP Strategic Plan evaluation are available.

2. Governance and coordination

Brief description of the monitoring and evaluation arrangements for the CAP Strategic Plan, identifying the main bodies involved and their responsibilities.

3. Stakeholder mapping

Brief description of the relevant stakeholders referred to in Article 4(2) and their needs related to evaluation activities and, where relevant, capacity building.

4. Timeline

Indicative planning of evaluations and evaluation support studies to be carried out during the programming cycle, as well as the reasoning for the choices made, including:

(a) evaluations to assess the contribution of the CAP Strategic Plans to the CAP objectives, to be carried out during the implementation of the CAP Strategic Plan;

(b) where relevant, the evaluations to assess specific topics referred to in Article 2, point (d);

(c) support studies and other research and analytical activities for evaluations.

5. Data and information

Brief description of the arrangements referred to in Article 7(2) to ensure data availability for monitoring and evaluation, including the identification of main data sources to be used, institutional arrangements for data provision and data quality control arrangements. This section should also include identification of data gaps and actions to address them, including having data systems operational in time.

6. Communication and follow-up

Description of how evaluation findings will be disseminated to target recipients, including a description of the mechanisms established for the follow-up and the use of evaluation results.

7. Resources, technical support and capacity building

Description of the resources needed and foreseen to implement the evaluation plan, including an indication of the administrative capacity, data, financial resources and IT needs.