(1)

Farmers and rural businesses in the Union have been affected by the consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in an unprecedented manner. Increasing input prices, particularly for energy, fertiliser and animal feed, have created economic disruption to the Union’s agricultural sector and rural communities and have led to liquidity problems for farmers and small rural businesses active in processing, marketing or development of agricultural products. That has created an exceptional situation which needs to be addressed by a new exceptional measure.

(2)

In order to respond to the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on the Union’s agricultural and food sectors, a new exceptional and temporary measure should be provided for in this Regulation addressing the liquidity problems that put at risk the continuity of farming activities and of small businesses active in processing, marketing or development of agricultural products.

(3)

The support under the measure provided for in this Regulation, which aims to secure competitiveness of agri-food businesses and farm viability in the Union, should concentrate the available resources on beneficiaries who are affected the most by the consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and be granted on the basis of objective and non-discriminatory criteria. In the case of farmers, it should be possible for such criteria to include production sectors, types of farming or farm structures and, in the case of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), sectors, types of activity, types of regions or other specific constraints.

(4)

The current serious crisis in the Union’s agricultural sector confirms the need to accelerate the transition towards sustainability to better prepare for future crises. The support under the measure provided for in this Regulation should therefore not result in a reduction of the overall share of the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) contribution reserved for the measures referred to in Article 59(6) of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (3).

(5)

Because of the urgency and the temporary and exceptional character of the measure provided for in this Regulation, a one-off payment and an end date for application of the measure should be set. The principle that payments by the Commission are to be made in accordance with budget appropriations and subject to available funding should also be complied with.

(6)

In order to give higher support to farmers or SMEs that are the most severely affected, it is appropriate to allow Member States to adjust the level of the lump-sums for certain categories of eligible beneficiaries, for instance by fixing certain ranges or broad categories, based on objective and non-discriminatory criteria.

(7)

In order to ensure adequate funding of the measure provided for in this Regulation without jeopardising other objectives of the rural development programmes, a maximum share of the Union contribution to that measure should be fixed.

(8)

Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 should therefore be amended accordingly.

(9)

In view of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the urgency of addressing the impact of that invasion on the Union’s agricultural and food sectors, it is considered to be appropriate to invoke the exception to the eight-week period provided for in Article 4 of Protocol No 1 on the role of national Parliaments in the European Union, annexed to the Treaty on European Union (TEU), to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and to the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community.

(10)

Since the objective of this Regulation, namely to address the exceptional situation created in the Union’s agricultural and food sectors by the impact of the Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States but can rather, by reason of the scale and effects of the action, be better achieved at Union level, the Union may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 TEU. In accordance with the principle of proportionality as set out in that Article, this Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve that objective.

(11)

Given the urgency of the situation relating to the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on the Union’s agricultural and food sectors, this Regulation should enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union,

(1)

the following Article is inserted:

(2)

in Article 49, paragraph 2 is replaced by the following:

(3)

in Article 59, the following paragraph is inserted: