European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development

 

SUMMARY OF:

Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 — support for rural development

WHAT IS THE AIM OF THE REGULATION?

The regulation:

• sets out how the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) contributes to the development of rural areas and the agricultural sector over the 2014-2020 period to be:
  • resilient, competitive and innovative;
  • climate-friendly and environmentally-balanced;
  • socially inclusive;
• lays down the rules governing the EU’s support for rural development, funded by the EAFRD;
• explains the EAFRD’s objectives and how it works.

It was amended by Regulation (EU) 2017/2393 which introduced a series of technical modifications to the 5 regulations relating to the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP):

• Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013;
• Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 on financing, management and monitoring of the CAP;
• Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013 on rules for direct payments to farmers;
• Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 on the common organisation of agricultural markets in agricultural products; and
• Regulation (EU) No 652/2014 on management of expenditure.

KEY POINTS

Objectives

The EAFRD aims to:

• foster competitiveness in agriculture;
• ensure that natural resources are managed sustainably and that measures to tackle climate change are implemented effectively;
• achieve a balanced territorial development of rural areas across the EU, including the creation and maintenance of employment.

Priorities

The EU supports action to meet 6 priority objectives:

• 1.

  fostering knowledge transfer and innovation;

• 2.

  enhancing viability and competitiveness of all types of agriculture and the sustainable management of forests;

• 3.

  promoting food chain organisation, including processing and marketing of agricultural products, animal welfare and risk management;

• 4.

  restoring, preserving and enhancing ecosystems related to agriculture and forestry;

• 5.

  promoting resource efficiency and the transition to a low-carbon economy;

• 6.

  promoting social inclusion, poverty reduction and economic development in rural areas.

EU countries and regions may also address issues of particular importance in their area such as:

• young farmers;
• small farms;
• mountain areas;
• women in rural areas;
• climate change mitigation, adaptation and biodiversity.

Budget

• The EAFRD’s budget was set at €99.3 billion in 2015. At least 30% of this must be used for measures to take care of the environment and combat climate change and 5% is reserved for local development strategies.
• Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/791 revises the budget breakdown of EU support for rural development programmes (Annex I of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013).

2017 amendment of the regulation

Regulation (EU) 2017/2393, which has applied since 1 January 2018, seeks to simplify and improve farmers’ access to finance under the CAP. Among other things, it introduces:

• a new sector-specific income stabilisation tool providing compensation to farmers affected by a severe drop in their income;
• support for insurance contracts in cases where more than 20% of a farmer’s average annual production is destroyed, for example due to adverse weather conditions.

Implementation

The regulation requires rural development policy to be consistent with other policies in this area. EU-level rules and agreements are in place to ensure that EU funding is used effectively, minimising overlaps and inconsistencies.

FROM WHEN DOES THE REGULATION APPLY?

It has applied since 1 January 2014.

BACKGROUND

The EAFRD is one of 2 EU funds providing money to implement the CAP (the other being the European Agriculture Guarantee Fund). It supports the goals of the Europe 2020 strategy by encouraging rural development throughout the EU, working alongside other initiatives in this area to ensure the effective use of EU funding.

For more information, see:

• Rural development 2014-2020 (European Commission).

MAIN DOCUMENT

Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 on support for rural development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005 (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, pp. 487-548)

Successive amendments to Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 have been incorporated into the original text. This consolidated version is of documentary value only.

RELATED DOCUMENTS

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, pp. 15-49)

Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 807/2014 of 11 March 2014 supplementing Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council on support for rural development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and introducing transitional provisions (OJ L 227, 31.7.2014, pp. 1-17)

See consolidated version.

Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 808/2014 of 17 July 2014 laying down rules for the application of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council on support for rural development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) (OJ L 227, 31.7.2014, pp. 18-68)

See consolidated version.

Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 809/2014 of 17 July 2014 laying down rules for the application of Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to the integrated administration and control system, rural development measures and cross compliance (OJ L 227, 31.7.2014, pp. 69-124)

See consolidated version.

Regulation (EU) No 652/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 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, amending Council Directives 98/56/EC, 2000/29/EC and 2008/90/EC, Regulations (EC) No 178/2002, (EC) No 882/2004 and (EC) No 396/2005 of the European Parliament and of the Council, Directive 2009/128/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Council Decisions 66/399/EEC, 76/894/EEC and 2009/470/EC (OJ L 189, 27.6.2014, pp. 1-32)

See consolidated version.

Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 laying down common provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and laying down general provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006 (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, pp. 320-469)

See consolidated version.

Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 on the financing, management and monitoring of the common agricultural policy and repealing Council Regulations (EEC) No 352/78, (EC) No 165/94, (EC) No 2799/98, (EC) No 814/2000, (EC) No 1290/2005 and (EC) No 485/2008 (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, pp. 549-607)

See consolidated version.

Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 establishing rules for direct payments to farmers under support schemes within the framework of the common agricultural policy and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 637/2008 and Council Regulation (EC) No 73/2009 (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, pp. 608-670)

See consolidated version.

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 (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, pp. 671-854)

See consolidated version.

last update 24.05.2019