2024/0274(COD) Specific measures under the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) to provide additional assistance to Member States affected by natural disasters
Progress: Preparatory phase in Parliament
Legal Basis:
RoP 58, TFEU 043-p2, TFEU 294-p7-acSubjects
Events
2024/10/21
EC - Legislative proposal
Documents
2024/10/21
EC - Legislative proposal published
Details
PURPOSE: to provide additional assistance and further flexibility to Member States affected by natural disasters to help them cope with the consequences of the devastating effects of the current natural disasters on the Union agri-food and forestry sector.
PROPOSED ACT: Regulation of the European Parliament and the Council.
ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the European Parliament decides in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and on an equal footing with the Council.
BACKGROUND: the recent natural disasters in Central and Eastern as well as in Southern Europe have had a devastating effect on the rural populations living and working in these regions. A considerable amount of agricultural and forestry production potential has been destroyed, with important losses of income.
In order to quickly address vulnerabilities of the European food system and rural communities resulting from these disasters, it is appropriate to rapidly provide exceptional effective support through the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) implemented under rural development programmes and provide for more flexibility for the existing measures.
In order to provide additional assistance and further flexibility to Member States affected by natural disasters, the Commission proposes a new measure and more flexibility in relation to the non-regression threshold provided for in Regulation (EU) 2020/2220 of the European Parliament and of the Council for a budgetary reinforcement of investments in restoration of agricultural potential as well as for funding the new measure.
CONTENT: the proposal is limited to a targeted amendment of Regulation (EU) 2020/2220. It complements all other measures aimed at addressing the current situation taken by the Union, in particular those measures aimed at providing liquidity.
In order to provide additional assistance and further flexibility as regards the non-regression threshold to Member States affected by natural disasters it is proposed to amend Regulation (EU) 2020/2220 to:
- introduce a new measure to allow Member States to provide liquidity support to farmers, forest holders and SMEs active in processing of agricultural and forestry products affected by natural disasters occurring as of 1 January 2024. The support is paid in form of a lump sum. The new measure can be co-financed up to 100% with EAFRD and the maximum share of Union contribution is 10% of the total EAFRD contribution to the rural development programme for the years 2021-2022. The support should be provided only to those beneficiaries which were affected by a destruction of at least 30% of the relevant production potential;
- provide limited flexibility regarding the non-regression clause when reallocating funds to the new measure or to measures for restoring production potential;
- give Member States the possibility to simplify procedures by considering the whole area to be gravely affected by a natural disaster when applying for “force majeure”;
- allow Member States to select for support operations that have been physically completed or fully implemented before the application for funding when linked to restoration or liquidity payments.
Budgetary implications
The proposal concerns the EAFRD rural development programmes for the 2014-2022 period and does not modify existing budgetary commitments. It remains within the limits of the overall allocation for the period 2014-2022 and is therefore budgetary neutral.
The total annual breakdown of commitment appropriations under EAFRD remains unchanged. Payments to beneficiaries will be made before 31 December 2025, and hence will be financed under the 2025, 2026 and 2027 budget.
The payment appropriations needed to finance this measure are to be accommodated within the appropriations for the EAFRD included in the Commission’s forthcoming Draft Budget 2025 and will be offset by a corresponding decrease in payment needs in subsequent years.
Documents
Documents
- Legislative proposal: COM(2024)0495
- Legislative proposal: EUR-Lex
- Legislative proposal published: COM(2024)0495
- Legislative proposal published: EUR-Lex
- Legislative proposal: COM(2024)0495 EUR-Lex
| Amendments | Dossier |
| 19 |
2024/0274(COD)
2024/11/18
BUDG
19 amendments...
Amendment 1 #
Recital A A. whereas the recent natural disasters linked to climate change in the EU have had a devastating effect on the rural populations living and working in the regions concerned, destroying a considerable amount of agricultural and forestry production potential, resulting in important losses of income for farmers, forest holders and rural businesses in those regions,
Amendment 10 #
Paragraph 6 6. Notes, in this context, that payments linked to 2021-2027 programmes under shared management have remained at a low level in the first years of implementation; recalls that this actual payment cycle does not coincide with the more linear payment profile set out in the MFF regulation and that this situation results in a risk of exceeding payment ceilings in the later years; considers that the frontloading of payments towards 2025 and 2026 could alleviate the pressure on payments; calls on the Commission to closely monitor the payments evolution and provide timely information to the European Parliament in this regard;
Amendment 11 #
Paragraph 7 7. Welcomes the tangible financial support to farmers, foresters and SMEs that are victims of natural disasters such as severe floods and wildfires, as a concrete expression of European solidarity; acknowledges the need to swiftly address the income losses that European farmers, foresters as well as small and medium businesses active in processing, marketing or development of agricultural and forestry products are facing due to recent devastating climate-related disasters; welcomes the fact that the financial support provided through the present proposal should prioritise support measures based on the ‘build back better’ principle, paving the way for a more comprehensive and preventive EU support to foster preparedness and resilience in the EU’s rural areas;
Amendment 12 #
Paragraph 7 7. Welcomes the tangible financial support to farmers, including small, low-income farmers and traditional products producers, foresters and SMEs that are victims of natural disasters such as severe floods and wildfires, as a concrete expression of European solidarity; acknowledges the need to swiftly address the income losses that European farmers, foresters as well as small and medium businesses active in processing, marketing or development of agricultural and forestry products are facing due to recent devastating climate-related disasters; stresses the need for additional financial support for subsistence agriculture, low- income farmers and traditional products producers; highlights that additional funding for rural areas could be made available under the Union Civil Protection Mechanism of the 2025 EU annual budget;
Amendment 13 #
Paragraph 7 7. Welcomes the tangible financial support to farmers, foresters and SMEs that are victims of natural disasters such as severe floods, droughts and wildfires, as a concrete expression of European solidarity; acknowledges the need to swiftly address the income losses that European farmers, foresters as well as small and medium businesses active in processing, marketing or development of agricultural and forestry products are facing due to recent devastating climate-related disasters;
Amendment 14 #
Paragraph 8 8. Recalls the general observation that, for most types of EU grant funding, a 100% EU-co-financing rate, while delivering effective results, raises questions in terms of lower available overall amount for policy and programme implementation as well as in terms of national, regional and local ownership; is convinced however, that in cases of disaster relief and urgent liquidity support, it is eminently justifiable; highlights the need to consult affected farmers, foresters, SMEs and stakeholders in order to provide realistic and targeted support;
Amendment 15 #
Paragraph 9 9. Reminds that a voluntary lowering of the non-regression threshold could result in a lower level of expenditure eligible to be counted against the pertinent ‘mainstreaming targets’ of the EU budget’s horizontal priorities, while acknowledging the need for such flexibilities to reallocate funding for the new measure and the existing sub-measure for restoration of agricultural production potential in particular in a manner that enhances resilience;
Amendment 16 #
Paragraph 9a (new) 9a. Recalls the prioritisation of recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction of the rural and agricultural infrastructure, while applying the ’build back better’ principle through the integration of protection and risk prevention measures;
Amendment 17 #
Paragraph 11 11. Considers that, in the longer term, a more developed and genuine budgetary flexibility should allow, in comparable cases, to make budgetary transfers in order to use the money under a
Amendment 18 #
Paragraph 11a (new) 11a. Calls for the immediate cessation of negotiations and the abandonment of the association agreement between the European Union and MERCOSUR; strongly denounces the unacceptable risks posed by this draft agreement, as it would allow the massive importation of low-cost agricultural products produced under practices that blatantly disregard the strict environmental, social, and health standards imposed on European producers; underlines that this agreement would create additional unfair competition for European farmers and livestock producers on several products, exposing them to imports derived from farming and cultivation practices that fail to comply with European sanitary and environmental standards; warns of the risk of European farms being weakened or even driven out of business by the influx of meat and other agricultural products from MERCOSUR that do not meet European standards; insists that Europe must not become an open market for food products that fail to meet the sustainability and safety requirements we impose on our own producers, especially given that major public health concerns cannot be ignored;
Amendment 19 #
Paragraph 11a (new) 11a. Concludes that the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) 2020/2220 as regards specific measures under the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) to provide additional assistance to Member States affected by natural disasters is compatible with the elements referred to in Rule 58(3) of the Rules of Procedure;
Amendment 2 #
Recital A A. whereas the recent natural disasters in the EU have had a devastating effect on the rural populations living and working in the regions concerned, destroying a considerable amount of agricultural and forestry production potential, resulting in important losses of income for farmers, forest holders and rural businesses in those regions, manifesting vulnerabilities in the European food system as a consequence from these disasters and posing a risk to EU food security and the availability of traditional products;
Amendment 3 #
Recital C C. whereas
Amendment 4 #
Recital G G. whereas the legislative amendment is meant to provide more budgetary flexibility to reallocate funding for new measures under the EAFRD to provide
Amendment 5 #
Paragraph 2 2. Recalls that the European Parliament has repeatedly called for more resources for the European Union Solidarity Fund (EUSF) in view of the increasing number and intensity of natural disasters and the need to speed-up and simplify procedures so that support reaches Member States and regions hit by natural disasters more quickly; highlights the need for administrative simplification to allow swift deployment of the funds and the use of lump sums for farmers, traditional products producers, foresters and SMEs;
Amendment 6 #
Paragraph 3 3. Recalls that the EP has repeatedly criticised the use of
Amendment 7 #
Paragraph 3 3. Recalls that the EP has repeatedly criticised the use of cohesion funding as emergency response tool and maintains that this approach risks undermining its longer-term policy and investment objectives; acknowledges, however, that the present proposal offers a pragmatic solution to deal with insufficient budgetary flexibility and crisis response capacity in the EU budget, in order to provide a fast response to the needs of the affected populations; calls upon the Commission and the Member States to swiftly mobilise and use the 3 billion euro made available through the RESTORE proposal in the EU budget 2025, from the cohesion funds, to deal with the effects of the recent natural disasters;
Amendment 8 #
Paragraph 5 5.
Amendment 9 #
Paragraph 6 source: 765.352
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History
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2024-11-09Show (1) Changes
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