52018DC0629

EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Brussels, 17.9.2018

COM(2018) 629 final

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL

11th FINANCIAL REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL
on the EUROPEAN AGRICULTURAL FUND FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT (EAFRD)
2017 FINANCIAL YEAR

Table of contents

1.Budget procedure

1.1.Financial framework

1.2.Draft Budget (DB) 2017

1.3.The adoption of the 2017 Budget

1.4.The adoption of the Amending Budgets

2.Management of appropriations

2.1.Management of commitment appropriations

2.1.1.EAFRD rural development programmes

2.1.2.Technical assistance

2.2.Management of payment appropriations

2.2.1.EAFRD rural development programmes

2.2.2.Technical assistance

3.Implementation of the 2017 EAFRD budget

3.1.Implementation of commitment appropriations

3.1.1.EAFRD rural development programmes

3.1.2.Technical assistance

3.2.Implementation of payment appropriations

3.2.1.EAFRD rural development programmes

3.2.2.Technical assistance

3.3.Analysis of expenditure declared by measure

3.4.Implementation of EAFRD programmes

3.4.1.Programming period 2007-2013

3.4.2.Programming period 2014-2020

1. Budget procedure

1.1. Financial framework

Rural development expenditure in 2017 is funded within two multiannual financial frameworks (MFFs): 2007-2013 and 2014-2020. The financial framework 2014-2020 is provided by Council Regulation (EU) No 1311/2013. The allocation for rural development and the allocation for market related expenditure and direct payments after the annual technical adjustment of the MFF are presented in table 1.

Table 1 – Financial framework 2014-2020

HEADING 2.	In million EUR; current prices
Sustainable growth: natural resources	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020
TOTAL	49 857	64 692	64 262	60 191	60 267	60 344	60 421
of which :
- Rural Development a), b), c), d), e)	5 299	18 184	18 684	14 371	14 381	14 691	14 709
- Market related expenditure and direct aids, a), b), c), d)	43 778	44 190	43 950	44 146	44 162	43 880	43 888

a) After net transfer of EUR 351.9 million between EAGF and EAFRD for the financial year 2014 (see note f for details)
b) After net transfer of EUR 51.6 million between EAGF and EAFRD for the financial year 2015 (see note f for details)
c) After net transfer of EUR 28 million between EAGF and EAFRD for the financial years 2014-2020 (see note f for details)
d) After net transfer of EUR 4 313.6 million between EAGF and EAFRD for financial years 2015-2020 (see note f for details)
e) After the reprogramming of the EAFRD allocation of year 2014 following the application of Article 19 of MFF Regulation (EU) No 1311/2013 a total amount of EUR 8 705 million deducted from 2014 commitments was equally distributed to 2015 and 2016 commitments
f) The transfers into Rural Development (EAFRD) mentioned in notes a) to d) above involve: EUR 4 million transferred annually for the whole period 2014-2020 from the cotton sector (EL) on the basis of Article 66(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013, EUR 296.3 million set for the voluntary adjustment transferred for the financial year 2014 (UK) on the basis of Article 10b and 10c(2) of Regulation (EC) No 73/2009, EUR 51.6 million for unspent amounts transferred each year for financial years 2014 and 2015 (SE and DE) on the basis of Articles 136 and 136b of Regulation (EC) No 73/2009 and EUR 4 313.6 million for the reduction of payments and the flexibility between pillars on the basis of Articles 7(2) and 14(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013

1.2. Draft Budget (DB) 2017

The 2017 Draft Budget (DB) was adopted by the Commission and proposed to the Budgetary Authority on 18 July 2016.

The Draft Budget included EUR 1 280 million in payment appropriations for the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) for the 2007-2013 programming period. No commitment appropriations were requested for year 2017 as the 2007-2013 programming period ended at the end of 2013. For the programming period 2014-2020, the DB 2017 included EUR 14 360 million in commitment appropriations and EUR 9 926 million in payment appropriations.

The Council adopted its position on the 2017 Draft Budget on 12 September 2016 and the European Parliament adopted its position on 26 October 2016. The Conciliation Committee had to be convened and the Committee agreed on a joint text within the 21-day time limit. The Council approved the joint text on 29 November 2016 and the European Parliament approved it on 1 December 2016.

1.3. The adoption of the 2017 Budget

The 2017 Budget adopted on 1 December 2016 was, as regards the EAFRD, equal to the initial Commission's proposal.

Table 2

Adopted Budget 2017
Budget Item	Commitment appropriations	Payment appropriations
	(in EUR)	(in EUR)
2007-2013
05.040501 (Rural development programmes)	-	1 280 000 000
05.040502 (Operational technical assistance)	-	-
2014-2020
05.046001 (Rural development programmes)	14 337 026 697	9 902 000 000
05.010404 (Non-operational technical assistance)	4 910 000	4 910 000
05.046002 (Operational technical assistance)	18 522 000	19 022 443

1.4. The adoption of the Amending Budgets

In the Amending Budgets No 6 the payment appropriations of EAFRD 2007-2013 were decreased by EUR 780 million and the commitments appropriations for the technical assistance were decreased by EUR 1.5 million.

Table 3

Budget 2017 after the Amendments
Budget Item	Commitment appropriations	Payment appropriations
	(in EUR)	(in EUR)
2007-2013
05.040501 (Rural development programmes)	-	500 000 000
05.040502 (Operational technical assistance)	-	-
2014-2020
05.046001 (Rural development programmes)	14 337 026 697	9 902 000 000
05.010404 (Non-operational technical assistance)	4 910 000	4 910 000
05.046002 (Operational technical assistance)	17 022 000	19 022 443

2. Management of appropriations

2.1. Management of commitment appropriations

2.1.1. EAFRD rural development programmes

As regards commitment appropriations, the 2017 voted budget amounted to EUR 14 337 million, all related to the 2014-2020 programmes.

The Budget 2017 did not include any commitment appropriations for EAFRD 2007-2013 programmes.

Table 4

Management of commitment appropriations in 2017 – EAFRD	Budget Item 05.040501 (in EUR)	Budget Item 05.046001 (in EUR)
Appropriations at the beginning of 2017	-	14 337 026 697
Appropriations available in 2017	-	14 337 026 697
Appropriations used in 2017	-	14 337 026 697

2.1.2. Technical assistance

Article 51(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 provides that the EAFRD may use up to 0.25% of its annual allocation to finance technical assistance actions at the initiative of the Commission. In the 2017 budget, the initial amount available for this purpose was EUR 4.9 million for non-operational technical assistance and EUR 18.5 million for operational technical assistance. The latter was reduced by EUR 1.5 million by the Amending Budget No 6.

2.2. Management of payment appropriations

2.2.1. EAFRD rural development programmes

For the rural development programmes 2014-2020, the payment appropriations of the voted budget 2017 amounted to EUR 9 902 million. In addition, the available assigned revenue, collected during the year, amounted to EUR 14.0 million The payment appropriations were reinforced with the transfer of EUR 3.0 million from the line of the technical assistance, with the end-of-the year transfer in the amount of EUR 567.7 million and with the transfer of EUR 110.0 million of assigned revenue from EAFRD 2007-2013 in order to cover in full the Member States' declarations of expenditure of the third quarter of 2017. Taking into account all transfers, the total amount of payment appropriations available in 2017 amounted to EUR 11 069.9 million. In total, in 2017, EUR 11 051.8 million of payment appropriations were used and EUR 18.1 million of assigned revenue were automatically carried over to 2018.

For the rural development programmes 2007-2013, payment appropriations of the voted budget 2017 amounted to EUR 1 280 million. In addition, the available assigned revenue, either carried over from 2016 or collected during the year, amounted to EUR 497.2 million. The Amending Budget No 6 reduced the payment appropriations by EUR 780 million. Moreover, they were also reduced by two transfers to the budget line for the EAFRD 2014-2020 programmes, in total EUR 583.2 million. At the end of the year, the total amount of payment appropriations available in 2017 was EUR 413.8 million. Of this amount, EUR 43.1 million were used and EUR 370.7 million of assigned revenue were automatically carried over to 2018.

Table 5

Management of payment appropriations in 2017
(in EUR)

EAFRD (2014-2020)
Budget Item - 05.046001
Appropriations at the beginning of 2017	9 902 000 000
Transfer from EAFRD 2007-2013	473 190 882
Transfer from technical assistance line of EAFRD 2014-2020	3 000 000
End-of-the year transfer	567 662 308
Assigned revenue collected in 2017	14 029 057
Transfer of Assigned revenue from EAFRD 2007-2013	110 000 000
Appropriations available in 2017	11 069 882 247
Appropriations used in 2017	11 051 784 091
EAFRD (2007-2013)
Budget Item - 05.040501
Appropriations at the beginning of 2017	1 280 000 000
Transfer to EAFRD 2014-2020	-473 190 882
Transfer to line 05.087706	-182 967
Amending budget	-780 000 000
Assigned revenue carried over from 2016	12 134 265
Assigned revenue collected in 2017	485 027 166
Transfer of Assigned revenue to EAFRD 2014-2020	-110 000 000
Appropriations available in 2017	413 787 582
Appropriations used in 2017	43 121 731

2.2.2. Technical assistance

As regards the EAFRD technical assistance, total payment appropriations in the 2017 budget amounted to EUR 23.9 million. EUR 3.0 million were transferred to the EAFRD 2014-2020 programmes line in order to cover in full the Member States’ declarations of expenditure of the third quarter of 2017. The final payment appropriations was EUR 20.9 million.

3. Implementation of the 2017 EAFRD budget

3.1. Implementation of commitment appropriations

3.1.1. EAFRD rural development programmes

The total amount of commitment appropriations available in the 2017 budget for the EAFRD programmes 2014-2020 (EUR 14 337.0 million) was committed.

Table 6 shows, per Member State, the allocation established by Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 as last amended by Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2018/162 and the amounts committed in 2017.

Table 6

Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 (as amended) vs. amounts committed by the end of 2017
Budget item: 05.046001		(in EUR)
MS	Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013	Amounts committed in 2017
	2017 Allocation
	(a)	(b)
AT	562 467 745	562 467 745
BE	97 175 076	97 175 076
BG	340 409 994	340 409 994
CY	18 894 801	18 894 801
CZ	344 509 078	344 509 078
DE	1 404 073 302	1 404 073 302
DK	144 868 072	144 868 072
EE	122 865 093	122 865 093
ES	1 185 553 005	1 185 553 005
FI	340 009 057	340 009 057
FR	1 665 777 592	1 665 777 592
GR	703 471 245	703 471 245
HR	282 342 500	282 342 500
HU	488 620 684	488 620 684
IE	313 007 411	313 007 411
IT	1 493 380 162	1 493 380 162
LT	230 451 686	230 451 686
LU	14 366 484	14 366 484
LV	155 139 289	155 139 289
MT	13 914 927	13 914 927
NL	118 357 256	118 357 256
PL	1 192 025 238	1 192 025 238
PT	579 806 001	579 806 001
RO	1 186 544 149	1 186 544 149
SE	249 386 135	249 386 135
SI	119 684 133	119 684 133
SK	215 356 644	215 356 644
UK	754 569 938	754 569 938
Total	14 337 026 697	14 337 026 697

3.1.2. Technical assistance

For the programming period 2014-2020, the amount of commitment appropriations for operational technical assistance in the budget 2017 was EUR 18.5 million. This line was reduced by EUR 1.5 million in the Amending Budget No 6. Table 7 shows the consumption of the commitment appropriations available for operational technical assistance in 2017. The most important part relates to the European Network for Rural Development as well as the European Innovation Partnership.

Table 7

Technical assistance – Implementation of commitment appropriations
Budget Item: 05.046002	(in EUR)
Description	Amount committed
European Network for Rural Development	5 023 899
European Innovation Partnership	2 687 741
Information technology*	2 257 024
European Evaluation Network	1 925 113
Audit and Controls	668 574
Solidarity Corps	500 000
Organic agriculture database	115 000
Total	13 177 350
* Including Broadband Competence Offices

3.2. Implementation of payment appropriations

3.2.1. EAFRD rural development programmes

For the programming period 2014-2020, all payment appropriations available in the Budget 2017 (EUR 9 902.0 million) were used. In addition, in the end of the year, reinforcements were needed to allow reimbursing in full expenditure declared by the Member States. The following transfers increased the payment appropriations available for EAFRD 2014-2020: EUR 473.2 million from EAFRD 2007-2013 Budget 2017, EUR 110.0 million of the assigned revenue from EAFRD 2007-2013, EUR 3.0 million from the operational technical assistance EAFRD 2014-2020, EUR 567.7 million from the end-of-the year transfer. In total, by the end of 2017, EUR 11 051.8 million, out of EUR 11 069.9 million payment appropriations available after the transfers was used.

For the programming period 2007-2013, EUR 43.1 million were implemented out of the initial EUR 1 280 million of payment appropriations available in the budget and of EUR 497.2 million available as assigned revenue. The Amending Budget No 6 reduced the payment appropriations by EUR 780.0 million. Moreover, EUR 583.2 million (including EUR 110.0 million of assigned revenue) was transferred to the budget line for the EAFRD 2014-2020 programmes.

Table 8 shows the breakdown of payments made in 2017 by declaration period:

Table 8

Payments 2017 for EAFRD rural development programmes (in million EUR)	2007-2013	2014-2020
	Item 05.040501	Item 05.046001
Pre-financing 2014-2020	-	0.0
Reimbursement of payment claims prior to Q4 2017	0.0	26.4
Reimbursement of payment claims Q4 2017	0.0	3 941.4
Reimbursement of payment claims Q1 2017	0.0	1 924.2
Reimbursement of payment claims Q2 2017	0.0	2 099.1
Reimbursement of payment claims Q3 2017	0.0	3 060.7
Closure and/or positive payments 2007-2013	43.1	-
Total 2017	43.1	11 051.8

The monthly consumption of payment appropriations during the year (January to December 2017) is shown in the graph below.

Graph 1

The breakdown per Member State and per declaration period of the amounts paid by the Commission in budget year 2017 is shown in tables 9a and 9b.

Table 9a: EAFRD 2007-2013

Payments effectively made between 01/01/2017 and 31/12/2017
EAFRD 2007-2013 - Budget item 05.040501 (in EUR)
MS	Positive payments, mainly following the judgements of Court of Justice	Closure	Total
AT
BE
BG	1 644 120		1 644 120
CY
CZ
DE	2 607		2 607
DK
EE
ES
FI
FR
GR	4 843 628		4 843 628
HU
IE
IT
LT	708 137		708 137
LU
LV
MT
NL
PL	24 776		24 776
PT
RO	35 897 249		35 897 249
SE
SI	1 214		1 214
SK
UK
Total	43 121 731	0	43 121 731

Table 9b: EAFRD 2014-2020

Payments effectively made between 01/01/2017 and 31/12/2017
EAFRD 2014-2020 - Budget item 05.046001						(in EUR)
MS	Prior to Q4 2016	Q4 2016	Q1 2017	Q2 2017	Q3 2017	Total
AT		284 034 513	34 306 827	118 368 156	41 760 912	478 470 408
BE		5 925 045	2 756 556	19 997 126	8 452 989	37 131 717
BG		19 664 658	39 513 021	81 321 944	54 014 439	194 514 062
CY		7 106 491	2 030 516	1 212 301	4 224 143	14 573 450
CZ		40 792 524	95 902 134	86 375 959	36 281 185	259 351 803
DE		474 591 531	206 265 375	158 977 107	111 118 692	950 952 706
DK		27 313 513	20 805 180	31 119 758	20 639 549	99 878 000
EE		17 338 409	52 578 670	12 925 139	16 571 073	99 413 291
ES		288 516 817	126 055 741	121 249 143	166 811 391	702 633 093
FI		127 783 822	18 656 891	53 803 633	118 963 308	319 207 655
FR		801 033 393	64 649 703	69 174 381	818 850 517	1 753 707 994
GR		338 972 961	39 884 776	45 877 268	283 310 929	708 045 934
HR		12 404 315	35 760 815	79 650 699	22 357 649	150 173 479
HU		54 311 309	2 482 437	105 315 539	34 483 224	196 592 509
IE		104 218 851	24 253 168	17 117 853	108 982 160	254 572 032
IT		215 647 575	189 232 281	211 715 839	173 676 812	790 272 508
LT		84 849 526	68 844 173	55 926 201	44 354 105	253 974 006
LU		2 759 059	4 188 850	637 753	1 277 912	8 863 575
LV		63 038 107	44 521 391	22 859 330	32 078 140	162 496 969
MT		1 654 062	305 557	88 103	123 251	2 170 973
NL		11 845 693	32 549 017	10 590 136	2 628 968	57 613 814
PL		148 421 690	132 318 221	208 784 253	84 080 426	573 604 590
PT		309 074 601	87 906 633	77 268 204	49 983 739	524 233 177
RO	26 332 371	265 094 574	340 526 570	313 662 587	623 552 613	1 569 168 715
SE		31 826 689	34 272 890	23 227 732	14 948 891	104 276 200
SI		27 374 475	12 498 310	31 421 808	8 959 016	80 253 608
SK		51 127 107	44 801 397	38 534 466	33 400 226	167 863 196
UK	43 923	124 709 926	166 295 483	101 908 247	144 817 050	537 774 629
Total	26 376 295	3 941 431 236	1 924 162 584	2 099 110 666	3 060 703 310	11 051 784 091

Table 10 compares, for each Member State, the EAFRD 2014-2020 payments made in 2017 with the payments in 2016. The payments increased significantly (by 42%) compared to year 2016 (EUR 11.1 billion vs. EUR 7.8 billion). The 2016 figures include the last tranche of pre-financing paid for the 2014-2020 programmes.

Table 10

Payments made to Member States - Comparison 2017 vs 2016 - EAFRD 2014-2020							(in EUR)

MS	2016			2017			Difference 2017 vs. 2016
	Interim payments	Pre-financing	Total	Interim payments	Pre-financing	Total	(in €)	(in %)
AT	394 576 581	39 375 520	433 952 101	478 470 408	0	478 470 408	44 518 307	10.26%
BE	39 503 051	6 477 978	45 981 029	37 131 717	0	37 131 717	-8 849 312	-19.25%
BG	129 060 043	23 667 170	152 727 213	194 514 062	0	194 514 062	41 786 849	27.36%
CY	7 177 699	1 322 444	8 500 142	14 573 450	0	14 573 450	6 073 308	71.45%
CZ	181 882 819	23 056 740	204 939 559	259 351 803	0	259 351 803	54 412 243	26.55%
DE	647 841 345	93 607 201	741 448 545	950 952 706	0	950 952 706	209 504 160	28.26%
DK	74 929 013	14 976 097	89 905 110	99 878 000	0	99 878 000	9 972 890	11.09%
EE	87 901 431	8 233 416	96 134 846	99 413 291	0	99 413 291	3 278 445	3.41%
ES	378 590 289	82 973 888	461 564 178	702 633 093	0	702 633 093	241 068 915	52.23%
FI	327 182 929	23 804 083	350 987 012	319 207 655	0	319 207 655	-31 779 358	-9.05%
FR	524 557 370	113 848 442	638 405 812	1 753 707 994	0	1 753 707 994	1 115 302 182	174.70%
GR	227 838 949	47 182 918	275 021 867	708 045 934	0	708 045 934	433 024 067	157.45%
HR	131 044 159	20 262 225	151 306 384	150 173 479	0	150 173 479	-1 132 905	-0.75%
HU	208 468 125	34 306 645	242 774 769	196 592 509	0	196 592 509	-46 182 260	-19.02%
IE	253 822 792	21 905 922	275 728 714	254 572 032	0	254 572 032	-21 156 682	-7.67%
IT	419 548 741	104 443 808	523 992 549	790 272 508	0	790 272 508	266 279 959	50.82%
LT	173 957 330	16 130 882	190 088 212	253 974 006	0	253 974 006	63 885 794	33.61%
LU	6 355 840	1 005 746	7 361 586	8 863 575	0	8 863 575	1 501 989	20.40%
LV	108 833 038	10 756 038	119 589 076	162 496 969	0	162 496 969	42 907 893	35.88%
MT	589 457	973 269	1 562 726	2 170 973	0	2 170 973	608 248	38.92%
NL	34 449 926	10 812 454	45 262 379	57 613 814	0	57 613 814	12 351 435	27.29%
PL	362 852 034	88 961 088	451 813 122	573 604 590	0	573 604 590	121 791 467	26.96%
PT	536 945 153	40 601 404	577 546 557	524 233 177	0	524 233 177	-53 313 380	-9.23%
RO	524 017 099	81 279 964	605 297 063	1 569 168 715	0	1 569 168 715	963 871 652	159.24%
SE	191 405 372	17 455 653	208 861 025	104 276 200	0	104 276 200	-104 584 824	-50.07%
SI	77 260 537	8 378 498	85 639 035	80 253 608	0	80 253 608	-5 385 427	-6.29%
SK	105 682 050	15 885 298	121 567 349	167 863 196	0	167 863 196	46 295 847	38.08%
UK	653 010 765	48 906 195	701 916 960	537 774 629	0	537 774 629	-164 142 331	-23.38%
Total	6 809 283 936	1 000 590 984	7 809 874 920	11 051 784 091	0	11 051 784 091	3 241 909 172	41.51%

3.2.2. Technical assistance

For the programming period 2014-2020, the amount for payment appropriations for the operational technical assistance was EUR 19.0 million. A part of these appropriations (EUR 3.0 million) was transferred to cover payment needs in relation to rural development programmes under EAFRD 2014-2020.

Table 11 hereafter presents the payments grouped by main activities. The most important part relates to the European Network for Rural Development.

Table 11

Technical assistance – Implementation of payment appropriations
Budget Item: 05.046002	(in EUR)
Description	Amount paid
European Network for Rural Development	4 057 011
European Innovation Partnership	2 734 982
Corporate communication	2 600 000
Information technology*	2 258 270
European Evaluation Network	1 375 984
Audit and Controls	649 115
Technical Advisory Platform for Financial Instruments	320 000
Solidarity Corps	296 041
Organic agriculture database	248 533
Total	14 539 936

* Including Broadband Competence Offices

3.3. Analysis of expenditure declared by measure

Table 12 shows the payment claims declared by Member States and by measure for rural development in 2017 (4th quarter of 2016 to 3rd quarter of 2017), the cumulative declared expenditure from the beginning of the programming period and also the financial plan of EAFRD 2014-2020 programmes.

The expenditure for EAFRD 2014-2020 in 2017 continued to concentrate mainly in Measure 13 (Payments to areas facing natural or other specific constraints) and in Measure 10 (Agri-environment-climate).

Table 12

EAFRD declared expenditure 2017 (Q4 2016-Q3 2017) & Total cumulative expenditure (Q4 2014 to Q3 2017)
compared with Financial Plans - EAFRD 2014-2020
		Declared expenditure 2017 (Q4 2016 to Q3 2017)		Cumulative declared expenditure (Q4 2014 to Q3 2017)		Financial Plans 2014-2020
EAFRD Measure		(million €)	(%)	(million €)	(%)	(million €)	(%)
Measure 01	Knowledge transfer and information actions	51.4	0.5%	73.3	0.3%	1 102.7	1.1%
Measure 02	Advisory services, farm management and farm relief services	16.0	0.1%	27.3	0.1%	763.4	0.8%
Measure 03	Quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs	18.3	0.2%	28.8	0.1%	379.9	0.4%
Measure 04	Investments in physical assets	1 625.5	14.7%	2 811.7	13.3%	22 621.2	22.8%
Measure 05	Restoring agricultural production potential damaged by natural disasters and catastrophic events and introduction of appropriate prevention actions	58.5	0.5%	111.6	0.5%	894.1	0.9%
Measure 06	Farm and business development	861.5	7.8%	1 277.6	6.0%	7 234.7	7.3%
Measure 07	Basic services and village renewal in rural areas	568.5	5.2%	688.9	3.3%	6 679.5	6.7%
Measure 08	Investments in forest area development and improvement of the viability of forests	341.7	3.1%	670.2	3.2%	4 532.6	4.6%
Measure 09	Setting-up of producer groups and organisations	17.4	0.2%	33.4	0.2%	413.1	0.4%
Measure 10	Agri-environment-climate	2 031.8	18.4%	5 125.3	24.2%	16 504.1	16.6%
Measure 11	Organic farming	939.8	8.5%	1 739.5	8.2%	6 631.8	6.7%
Measure 12	Natura 2000 and Water Framework Directive payments	69.6	0.6%	165.5	0.8%	576.2	0.6%
Measure 13	Payments to areas facing natural or other specific constraints	3 314.4	30.0%	6 532.7	30.8%	16 013.6	16.1%
Measure 14	Animal Welfare	287.8	2.6%	519.3	2.5%	1 509.4	1.5%
Measure 15	Forest environmental and climate services and forest conservation	10.7	0.1%	20.2	0.1%	265.2	0.3%
Measure 16	Co-operation	38.8	0.4%	60.7	0.3%	1 749.0	1.8%
Measure 17	Risk management	166.6	1.5%	182.3	0.9%	1 671.7	1.7%
Measure 18	Financing of complementary national direct payments for Croatia	17.8	0.2%	108.5	0.5%	111.9	0.1%
Measure 19	Support for LEADER local development — community-led local development (CLLD)	291.5	2.6%	417.0	2.0%	6 931.2	7.0%
Measure 20	Technical assistance Member States	208.0	1.9%	291.7	1.4%	2 125.4	2.1%
Measure 113	Early retirement	97.4	0.9%	295.1	1.4%	631.8	0.6%
Measure 131	Meeting standards based on Community legislation	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.0%	0.0	0.0%
Measure 341	Skills acquisition, animation and implementation	0.4	0.0%	0.4	0.0%	0.6	0.0%
Grand total		11 033.6	100.0%	21 180.9	100.0%	99 343.3	100.0%

*Member States declare their expenditure quarterly. However, for year n, Q4 declarations are submitted in January of year n+1. Consequently, the corresponding reimbursements by the Commission to the Member States in year n go from Q4 of year n-1 until Q3 of year n.

3.4. Implementation of EAFRD programmes

3.4.1. Programming period 2007-2013

Graph 2 presents the absorption rate of rural development programmes 2007-2013 per Member State: payments from the beginning of the programming period till 31 December 2017, including closure payments for the programmes that have already been closed by this date, compared to the total 2007-2013 allocation.

Until the end of 2017 the application of the N+2 rule has resulted in decommitments amounting in total to EUR 1 867 million.

3.4.2. Programming period 2014-2020

Graph 3 presents the absorption rate of rural development programmes 2014-2020 per Member State: payments from the beginning of the programming period including payments made for the 4th quarter of 2017 that is reimbursed in financial year 2018 compared to the total 2014-2020 allocation.

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