(a)

Regulation (EU) 1144/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council (1);

(b)

Regulations (EU) No 228/2013 (2) and (EU) No 229/2013 (3) of the European Parliament and of the Council;

(c)

Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 of the European Parliament and of the Council (4);

(d)

Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 of the European Parliament and of the Council (5);

(e)

Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (6).

(a)

the particular nature of agricultural activity, which results from the social structure of agriculture and from structural and natural disparities between the various agricultural regions;

(b)

the need to effect the appropriate adjustments by degrees;

(c)

the fact that in the Member States agriculture constitutes a sector closely linked with the economy as a whole.

(a)

supporting viable farm income and resilience of the agricultural sector across the Union to enhance long-term food security and agricultural diversity as well as ensuring the economic sustainability of agricultural production in the Union;

(b)

enhancing market orientation and increase farm competitiveness both in the short and long term, including greater focus on research, technology and digitalisation;

(c)

improving farmers’ position in the value chain;

(d)

contributing to climate change mitigation and adaptation, including by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and enhancing carbon sequestration, as well as promoting sustainable energy;

(e)

fostering sustainable development and efficient management of natural resources such as water, soil and air, including by reducing chemical dependency;

(f)

contributing to halting and reversing biodiversity loss, enhancing ecosystem services and preserving habitats and landscapes;

(g)

attracting and sustaining young farmers and other new farmers and facilitating sustainable business development in rural areas;

(h)

promoting 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;

(i)

improving the response of Union agriculture to societal demands on food and health, including high quality, safe, and nutritious food produced in a sustainable way and the reduction of food waste, as well as improving animal welfare and combatting antimicrobial resistances.

(a)

measures in the agricultural sector, financed exclusively from national funds, which consist of one of the following:

(b)

aid for the forestry sector (Part II, Chapter 2), which consists of one of the following:

(c)

aid for undertakings active in rural areas which is granted in one of the following forms:

(1)

‘active farmer’ means a farmer as determined by a Member State in its CAP Strategic Plan (20) in accordance with Article 4(5) of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115;

(2)

‘ad hoc aid’ means aid not granted on the basis of an aid scheme;

(3)

‘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, in the case of agriculture, more than 30 % of the average production calculated on the basis of the preceding three-year or four-year period or a three-year average based on the preceding five- or eight-year period, excluding the highest and the lowest entry; in the case of forestry, more than 20 % of the forestry potential;

(4)

‘advice’ means complete advice given in the framework of one and the same contract;

(5)

‘agricultural activity’ means an activity as determined by a Member State in its CAP Strategic Plan in accordance with Article 4(2) of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115;

(6)

‘agricultural area’ means any area as determined by a Member State in its CAP Strategic Plan in accordance with Article 4(3) of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115;

(7)

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

(8)

‘agricultural product’ means the products listed in Annex I to the Treaty, except fishery and aquaculture products listed in Annex I to Regulation (EU) No 1379/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (21);

(9)

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

(10)

‘agroforestry systems’ means land use systems in which trees are grown in combination with agriculture on the same land;

(11)

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

(12)

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

(13)

‘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/or for an indefinite amount;

(14)

‘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;

(15)

‘biosecurity measures’ means management and physical measures designed to reduce the risk of introduction, development and spread of diseases to, from and within: (a) an animal population, or (b) an establishment, zone, compartment, means of transport or any other facilities, premises or location;

(16)

‘breeding book’ means breading book as provided for in Article 2, point (12), of Regulation (EU) 2016/1012 of the European Parliament and of the Council (22);

(17)

‘CAP Strategic Plan’ means CAP Strategic Plan as referred to in Article 1(1), point (c) of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115;

(18)

‘capitalised works’ means works, undertaken by a farmer personally or by the farmer’s workers on the farm that create an asset;

(19)

‘carbon farming schemes’ means aid schemes related to land management practices resulting in the increase of carbon storage in living biomass, dead organic matter and soils by enhancing carbon capture and/or reducing the release of carbon to the atmosphere;

(20)

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

(21)

‘cluster’ means a grouping of independent undertakings, including start-ups, small, medium and large enterprises as well as advisory bodies or research organisations designed to stimulate economic/ innovative activity by promoting intensive interactions, the sharing of facilities and the exchange of knowledge and expertise, as well as contributing effectively to knowledge transfer, networking and information dissemination among the undertakings in the cluster;

(22)

‘control and eradication measures’ means measures regarding animal diseases for which a competent authority of a Member State has formally recognised an outbreak, or regarding plant pests or invasive alien species for which a competent authority of a Member State has formally acknowledged their presence;

(23)

‘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;

(24)

‘environmental incident’ means a specific occurrence of pollution, contamination or degradation in the quality of the environment which is related to a specific event and is of limited geographical scope, which destroys more than 30 % of the average annual production of the undertaking active in the agricultural sector in the preceding three-year period or a three-year average based on the preceding five-year period, excluding the highest and lowest entry; in the case of forestry, more than 20 % of the forestry potential; it does not cover general environmental risks not connected with a specific event, such as climate change or atmospheric pollution;

(25)

‘evaluation plan’ means a document covering one or more aid schemes and containing at least the following aspects: the objectives to be evaluated, the evaluation questions, the result indicators, the envisaged method to conduct the evaluation, the data collection requirements, the proposed timing of the evaluation including the date of submission of the interim and the final evaluation reports, the description of the independent body that will carry out the evaluation or the criteria that will be used for its selection and the modalities for making the evaluation publicly available;

(26)

‘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;

(27)

‘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;

(28)

‘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;

(29)

‘food and feed crop based biofuel’ means a biofuel produced from food and feed crops as defined in Directive (EU) 2018/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council (23);

(30)

‘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 (24);

(31)

‘forest’ means an area of land spanning more than 0,5 hectares with trees higher than 5 meters and a canopy cover of more than 10 %, or trees able to reach these thresholds in situ and not including land that is predominantly under agricultural or urban land use, or a forest as defined and applied by a Member State or region based on existing national legislation or inventory system and as provided to the Commission in the notification; and, when it relates to a rural development intervention, as provided in the CAP Strategic Plan;

(32)

‘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;

(33)

‘individual aid’ means ad hoc aid and awards of aid to individual beneficiaries on the basis of an aid scheme;

(34)

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

(35)

’invasive alien species’ means invasive alien species of Union concern and invasive alien species of Member State concern as defined in Article 3(3) and 3(4) of Regulation (EU) No 1143/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council (25);

(36)

‘large enterprises’ means undertakings not fulfilling the criteria laid down in Annex I to Commission Regulation (EU) 2022/2472 (26);

(37)

‘local markets’ means one of the following:

(38)

‘marketing of agricultural products’ means holding or displaying with a view to sale, offering for sale, delivery or any other manner of placing on the market, except the first sale by a farmer 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 or facilities reserved for that purpose;

(39)

‘mutual fund’ means a scheme accredited by a Member State in accordance with its national law for affiliated farmers, forest holders and forest managers to insure themselves, whereby compensation payments are made to affiliated farmers, forest holders and forest managers who experience economic losses;

(40)

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

(41)

‘operations prior to industrial processing’ means felling, dismembering, stripping, cutting up, storage, protective treatment and drying of wood and all other working operations prior to the industrial sawing of wood at a sawing mill; as well as sawmilling where the maximum sawmilling capacity is 20 000 m3 roundwood input for sawmilling per year;

(42)

‘other adverse climatic event’ means unfavourable weather conditions which do not constitute an adverse climatic event which can be assimilated to a natural disaster;

(43)

‘outermost regions’ means the regions referred to in Article 349, first paragraph, of the Treaty;

(44)

‘plant pest’ means any species, strain or biotype of plant, animal or pathogenic agent injurious to plants or plant products;

(45)

‘prevention measures’ means measures regarding an animal disease, plant pest or invasive alien species that has not yet occurred;

(46)

‘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;

(47)

‘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;

(48)

‘producer group or organisation’ means a group or organisation set up for the purpose of at least one of the following:

(49)

‘protected animal’ means any animal protected either by Union or by national legislation, including animal species for which national legislation provides specific rules to preserve the population;

(50)

‘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;

(51)

‘research and knowledge-dissemination organisation’ means an entity (such as universities or research institutes, technology-transfer agencies, innovation intermediaries, research-oriented physical and/or virtual collaborative entities), irrespective of its legal status or way of financing, whose primary goal is to independently conduct fundamental research, industrial research or experimental development, as defined in the Framework for State aid for research and development and innovation, 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 economic activities must be accounted for separately. Undertakings that can exert a decisive influence upon such an entity, for example in the quality of, for example, shareholders or members, may not enjoy a preferential access to the results generated by it;

(52)

‘short supply chain’ means a supply chain involving a limited number of economic operators, committed to cooperation, local economic development, and close geographical and social relations between producers, processors and consumers;

(53)

‘small-scale infrastructure’ means infrastructure with eligible costs limited to EUR 2 million;

(54)

‘small operator’ means a microenterprise as defined in Commission Recommendation 2003/361 (27), or a natural person not engaged in economic activity at the moment of applying for aid;

(55)

‘smaller Aegean islands’ means the smaller islands referred to in Article 1(2) of Regulation (EU) No 229/2013;

(56)

‘SMEs’ or ‘micro, small and medium-sized enterprises’ means undertakings fulfilling the criteria laid down in Annex I to Commission Regulation (EU) 2022/2472;

(57)

‘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; the purchase of land referred to in point (153)(a) and point (502)(c) where the eligible costs for the land purchase equals 100 % of the eligible investment costs, is considered to be the start of works on a project or an activity;

(58)

‘sustainable forest management’ means the stewardship and use of forest lands in a way and at a rate that maintains their biodiversity, productivity, regeneration capacity, vitality and their potential to fulfil now and in the future relevant ecological, economic and social functions at local, national and global levels and that does not cause damage to other ecosystems;

(59)

‘tangible assets’ means assets consisting of land, buildings and plant, machinery and equipment;

(60)

‘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;

(61)

‘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 (28);

(62)

‘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;

(63)

‘undertaking in difficulty’ means an undertaking fulfilling the criteria laid down in Section 2.2 of the Commission Guidelines on State aid for rescuing and restructuring non-financial undertakings in difficulty;

(64)

‘Union standard’ means a 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; consequently, 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;

(65)

‘young farmer’ means a farmer as determined by a Member State in its CAP Strategic Plan in accordance with Article 4(6) of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115;

(66)

for the purposes of conservation of genetic resources in agriculture and in forestry:

(a)

for individual investment aid for the processing of agricultural products and the marketing of agricultural products under Part II, Section 1.1.1.3: eligible costs in excess of EUR 25 million, or where the gross grant equivalent exceeds EUR 12 million;

(b)

for aid for promotion campaigns under Part II, Section 1.3.4: promotion campaigns with an annual budget in excess of EUR 5 million.

(a)

First condition: aid facilitates the development of an economic activity:

(b)

Second condition: aid does not unduly affect trading conditions to an extent contrary to the common interest:

(a)

aid schemes for land consolidation in accordance with Part II, Section 1.3.6 and Section 2.9.2 and aid schemes with ecological, protective and recreational objectives in accordance with Part II, Section 2.8 and where the following conditions are fulfilled:

(b)

aid for area-specific disadvantages resulting from certain mandatory requirements in accordance with Part II, Section 1.1.6;

(c)

aid to areas facing natural or other specific constraints in accordance with Part II, Section 1.1.7;

(d)

aid for information actions in the agricultural sector in accordance with Part II, Section 1.1.10.1, which consists of making available the information to an undefined number of beneficiaries;

(e)

aid to make good the damage caused by natural disasters or exceptional occurrences in accordance with Part II, Section 1.2.1.1;

(f)

aid to compensate for the damage caused by adverse climatic events which can be assimilated to natural disaster in accordance with Part II, Section 1.2.1.2;

(g)

aid to compensate for the costs of the prevention, control and eradication of animal diseases and plant pests and for losses caused by those animal diseases and plant pests in accordance with Part II, Section 1.2.1.3;

(h)

aid to cover the costs of the removal and destruction of fallen stock in accordance with Part II, Section 1.2.1.4;

(i)

aid to compensate for the damage caused by protected animals in accordance with Part II, Section 1.2.1.5;

(j)

aid to make good the damage in forests caused by animals regulated by law in accordance with Part II, Section 2.8.5;

(k)

aid for information actions in the forestry sector in accordance with Part II, Section 2.4, which consists of making available the information to an undefined number of beneficiaries;

(l)

aid for investments in favour of conservation of cultural and natural heritage on the agricultural holding in accordance with Part II, Section 1.1.1.2, with the exception of individual aid which exceeds EUR 500 000 per undertaking per investment project;

(m)

aid for promotion measures in accordance with point (468) (b), (c) and (d);

(n)

aid to compensate for additional transport costs in accordance with points (480) and (481);

(o)

aid for research and development in the agricultural and forestry sectors in accordance with Part II, Section 1.3.7 and Section 2.9.1;

(p)

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 Part II, Section 2.1.3;

(q)

aid for the costs of treatment and preventing the spreading of pests and tree diseases and aid to make good the damage caused by the pests and tree diseases in accordance with Part II, Section 2.8.1.

(a)

contain only elements that are verifiable;

(b)

are based on figures established by appropriate expertise;

(c)

indicate clearly the source of the figures used;

(d)

are differentiated to take account of regional or local site conditions and actual land use, where applicable;

(e)

do not contain elements linked to investment costs.

(a)

unit costs;

(b)

lump sums;

(c)

flat-rate financing.

(a)

a fair, equitable and verifiable calculation method based on one or more of the following:

(b)

in accordance with the rules for application of corresponding unit costs, lump sums and flat rates applicable in Union policies for a similar type of operation.

(a)

the full text of the aid scheme and its implementing provisions or legal basis for individual aid, or a link to it;

(b)

the identity of the granting authority or authorities;

(c)

the identity of the individual beneficiaries (37), the form and amount of aid granted to each beneficiary, the date of granting, the type of undertaking (SME/ large enterprise), the region in which the beneficiary is located (at NUTS level II) and the principal economic sector in which the beneficiary has its activities (at NACE group level). Such a requirement can be waived with respect of individual aid awards not exceeding the following thresholds:

(a)

cases of significant capacity expansion which leads to or deteriorates an existing situation of overcapacity, especially in a declining market;

(b)

cases where the aid beneficiary holds substantial market power.

(a)

where the investment is made for the production of biofuels as defined in Article 2, point (33), of Directive (EU) 2018/2001 on agricultural holdings, renewable energy production facilities are eligible for aid only if their annual production capacity is no more than equivalent to the annual average fuel consumption of the agricultural holding; the produced biofuel should not be sold on the market;

(b)

where the investment is made for the production of thermal energy and/or electricity from renewable sources on agricultural holdings, the renewable energy production facilities are eligible for aid only if the aim is to serve their own energy needs and their annual production capacity is no more than equivalent to the combined average annual energy consumption of thermal energy and electricity on the agricultural holding, including the farm household; regarding electricity, the selling of electricity is allowed into the grid as far as the annual average self-consumption limit is respected.

(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 or animal welfare standards;

(c)

the creation and improvement of infrastructure related to the development, adaptation and modernisation of agriculture, including access to farm land, land consolidation and land improvement, the supply of sustainable energy, energy efficiency, supply and saving of water;

(d)

the restoration of agricultural production potential damaged by natural disasters, exceptional occurrences or adverse climatic events which can be assimilated to a natural disaster, animal diseases and plant pests, protected animals and the prevention and risk mitigation of damage caused by those before-mentioned events and factors;

(e)

contributing to climate change mitigation and adaptation, including by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and enhancing carbon sequestration, as well as promoting sustainable energy and energy efficiency;

(f)

contributing to sustainable circular bioeconomy and fostering sustainable development and efficient management of natural resources such as water, soil and air, including by reducing chemical dependency;

(g)

contributing to halting and reversing biodiversity loss, enhancing ecosystem services and preserving habitats and landscapes.

(a)

the construction, acquisition, including leasing, or improvement of immovable property, including investments in passive in-house wiring or structured cabling for data networks and, if necessary the ancillary part of the passive network on the private property outside the building, with land purchased only being eligible to an extent not exceeding 10 % of the total eligible costs of the operation concerned; in exceptional and duly justified cases, a higher percentage may be permitted for operations concerning environmental conservation and carbon-rich soil preservation, or land purchased by young farmers through the use of financial instruments;

(b)

the purchase or lease purchase of machinery and equipment up to the market value of the assets;

(c)

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 remain eligible costs even where based on their results, no expenditure under points (a) and (b) is incurred;

(d)

the acquisition, development or usage fees of computer software, cloud and similar solutions, and the acquisition of patents, licences, copyrights and trademarks;

(e)

expenses for non-productive investments linked to the objectives referred to in point (152)(e), (f) and (g);

(f)

in the case of investment aiming at the restoration of agricultural production potential damaged by natural disasters, exceptional occurrences or adverse climatic events which can be assimilated to a natural disaster, animal diseases or plant pests and protected animals, the eligible costs may include the costs incurred for restoring the production potential, including capitalised works, up to the level as it was at before the occurrence of those events; beneficiaries should, where appropriate, endeavour to include in the restoration, adaptation measures to climate change;

(g)

in the case of investments aiming at the prevention of damage caused by natural disasters, exceptional occurrences, adverse climatic events which can be assimilated to a natural disaster, animal diseases and plant pests and protected animals, the eligible costs may include the costs of specific prevention actions aiming at reducing the consequences of such probable events. In case of damage by adverse climatic events which can be assimilated to a natural disaster or by plant pests, beneficiaries should, where appropriate, endeavour to include in the restoration, adaptation measures to climate change, in order to minimise damage and losses produced by similar events in the future.

(a)

the purchase of agricultural production rights and payment entitlements;

(b)

the purchase and planting of annual plants;

(c)

the purchase of animals;

(d)

investments to comply with national or Union standards in force;

(e)

costs, other than those referred to in point (153), connected with leasing contracts, such as lessor’s margin, interest refinancing costs, overheads and insurance charges;

(f)

working capital;

(g)

wiring or cabling for data networks outside the private property.

(a)

the purchase of animals carried out for the objective of point (152)(d);

(b)

the purchase of animals of endangered breeds as defined in Article 2, point (24) of Regulation (EU) 2016/1012 under the commitments referred to in point (207);

(c)

purchase of guard dogs protecting livestock against large predators.

(a)

a river basin management plan, in accordance with the terms of Directive 2000/60/EC, has 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 have been specified in the relevant programme of measures;

(b)

water metering enabling measurement of water use at the level of the supported investment is in place or must be put in place as part of the investment;

(c)

an investment in an improvement to an existing irrigation installation or element of irrigation infrastructure is eligible only if:

(d)

support may be granted to investments in the use of reclaimed water as an alternative water supply only if the provision and use of such water is compliant with Regulation (EU) 2020/741 of the European Parliament and of the Council (51);

(e)

an investment resulting in a net increase of the irrigated area affecting a given body of ground or surface water is eligible only if both of the following conditions are fulfilled:

(a)

investments linked to one or more of the specific environmental- and climate-related objectives referred to in point (152) (e), (f) and (g) or to animal welfare;

(b)

investments by young farmers;

(c)

investments in the outermost regions or the smaller Aegean islands.

(a)

non-productive investments linked to one or more of the specific environmental- and climate-related objectives referred to in point (152)(e), (f) and (g);

(b)

investments for the restoration of production potential referred to in point (152)(d) and investments related to prevention and risk mitigation of damage caused by natural disasters, exceptional occurrences, adverse climatic events which can be assimilated to a natural disaster, or protected animals.

(a)

80 % of the eligible costs for irrigation on-farm investments made under point (157)(c);

(b)

100 % of the eligible costs for investments in off-farm infrastructure in agriculture to be used for irrigation;

(c)

65 % of the eligible costs for other irrigation on-farm investments.

(a)

investment costs in tangible assets;

(b)

capitalised works.

(a)

Commission Regulation (EU) No 651/2014 (52);

(b)

the Guidelines on regional State aid;

(c)

this Section.

(a)

the construction, acquisition, including leasing, or improvement of immoveable property, including investments in passive in-house wiring or structured cabling for data networks and, if necessary, the ancillary part of the passive network on the private property outside the building, with land purchased 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 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 remain eligible expenditure even where, based on their results, no expenditure under points (a) and (b) is incurred;

(d)

the acquisition development or usage fees of computer software, cloud and similar solutions, and the acquisition of patents, licences, copyrights and trademarks.

(a)

costs, other than those referred to in point (173) connected with leasing contracts, such as lessor's margin, interest refinancing costs, overheads and insurance charges;

(b)

working capital;

(c)

wiring or cabling for data networks outside the private property;

(d)

costs related to investments to comply with Union and national standards in force.

(a)

investments linked to one or more of the specific environmental- and climate-related objectives referred to in point (152) (e), (f) and (g) or, investments as regards aid in favour of processing of agricultural products, or to an improvement in animal welfare;

(b)

investments by young farmers;

(c)

investments in the outermost regions or the smaller Aegean islands.

(a)

the installation of young farmers;

(b)

the start-up of agricultural activities.

(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 single producers;

(b)

agricultural associations that undertake tasks such as mutual support and farm replacement 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(3) and Article 156 of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013.

(a)

the relevant statutory management requirements and GAEC standards established under Title III, Chapter I, Section 2, of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115;

(b)

the relevant minimum requirements for the use of fertiliser and plant protection products as well as other relevant mandatory requirements established by national and Union law;

(c)

the conditions established for the maintenance of the agricultural area in accordance with Article 4(2), point (b), of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115.

(a)

the whole grazed area of the holding must be managed and maintained to avoid over- and under-grazing;

(b)

livestock density must be defined taking account of all grazing livestock kept on the farm or, in the case of a commitment to limit nutrient leaching, all animals kept on the farm which are relevant to the commitment in question.

(a)

to rear farm animals of local breeds, genetically adapted to one or more traditional production systems or environments in the country, in danger of being lost to farming;

(b)

to preserve plant genetic resources naturally adapted to the local and regional conditions and under threat of genetic erosion.

(a)

the number, at national level, of breeding females concerned is stated;

(b)

that number and the endangered status of the listed breeds is certified by a duly recognised relevant scientific body;

(c)

a duly recognised relevant technical body registers and keeps up-to-date the breeding book for the breed;

(d)

the bodies concerned possess the necessary skills and knowledge to identify animals of the breeds in danger.

(a)

targeted actions: actions promoting the in situ and ex situ conservation, characterisation, collection and utilisation of genetic resources in agriculture, including web-based inventories of genetic resources currently conserved in situ, including in situ/ on-farm conservation, and of ex situ collections and databases;

(b)

concerted actions: actions promoting the exchange of information for the conservation, characterisation, collection and utilisation of genetic resources in Union agriculture, among competent organisations in the Member States;

(c)

accompanying actions: information, dissemination and advisory actions involving non-governmental organisations and other relevant stakeholders, training courses and preparation of technical reports.

(a)

water, feed and animal care in accordance with the natural needs of animals;

(b)

housing conditions that improve the comfort of animals and their freedom of movement, such as increased space allowances, flooring surfaces, natural light, microclimate control, as well as housing conditions such as free farrowing or group housing, depending on the natural needs of animals;

(c)

conditions allowing for expression of natural behaviour, such as enrichment of living environment or late weaning;

(d)

outdoor access and grazing;

(e)

practices that increase animal robustness and longevity, including slower growing breeds;

(f)

practices which avoid mutilation or castration of animals; in specific cases when mutilation or castration of animals is deemed necessary, anaesthetics, analgesia and anti-inflammatory medication or immunocastration must be used;

(g)

sanitary measures, preventing non-transmissible diseases, that do not require the use of medical substances such as vaccines, insecticides or anti-parasitic drugs.

(a)

the relevant statutory management requirements, with the exception of SMR 1 listed in Annex III to Regulation (EU) 2021/2115, and GAEC standards established under Title III, Chapter I, Section 2, of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115;

(b)

the conditions established for the maintenance of the agricultural area determined by a Member State in its CAP Strategic Plan in accordance with Article 4(2), point (b), of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115

(a)

Natura 2000 agricultural areas designated pursuant to the Directive 92/43/EEC and Directive 2009/147/EC;

(b)

other delimited nature protection areas with environmental restrictions applicable to farming which contribute to the implementation of Article 10 of the Directive 92/43/EEC; those areas must not exceed 5 % of the designated Natura 2000 areas covered by the territorial scope of the relevant CAP Strategic Plan;

(c)

agricultural areas included in river basin management plans according to Directive 2000/60/EC.

(a)

the relevant statutory management requirements and GAEC standards established under Title III, Chapter I, Section 2, of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115;

(b)

the relevant minimum requirements for the use of fertiliser and plant protection products, animal welfare, and other relevant mandatory requirements established by national and Union law;

(c)

the conditions established for the maintenance of the agricultural area in accordance with Article 4(2), point (b), of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115.

(a)

the costs for new participation in quality schemes, notably 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;

(b)

the costs for compulsory control measures in relation to the quality schemes undertaken pursuant to Union or national legislation by or on behalf of the competent authority of the Member State;

(c)

the costs for market research activities, product conception and design and for the preparation of applications for recognition of quality schemes.

(a)

Union quality schemes;

(b)

quality schemes, including farm certification schemes, for agricultural products recognised by the Member States as complying with the following criteria: