Official Journal of the European Union
EN L series
2025/2649 31.12.2025
of 19 December 2025 amending Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 as regards the conditionality system, types of intervention in the form of direct payment, types of intervention in certain sectors and rural development and annual performance reports and Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 as regards suspensions of payments, annual performance clearance and controls and penalties
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 43(2) thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments, Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee (1), Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure (2), Whereas:
| (1) | In its communications of 29 January 2025 entitled ‘A Competitiveness compass for the EU’ and of 11 February 2025 entitled ‘A simpler and faster Europe: Communication on implementation and simplification’, the Commission emphasised the need to enhance competitiveness, foster innovation, and support growth across the Union, for which simplification and reducing administrative burden are critical enabling factors. It is, therefore, necessary to address costly regulatory burdens, complexities of Union law and its implementation, including excessive reporting obligations, while paying attention to the specific needs of small and medium entities. |
| (2) | The Commission in its communication of 19 February 2025 on a vision for agriculture and food stresses that, to drive innovation and sustainability in agricultural practices, farmers should be entrepreneurs and providers who do not carry unnecessary bureaucratic or regulatory burdens. That perspective and the sector’s diversity call for tailored approaches rather than ‘one-size-fits-all’ solutions, alongside reality checks for the Union law, and simplifications, considering also the benefits brought by digital technologies, such as technologies enabling automated reporting. A better balance between requirements and incentives is needed to guide the sustainability transition of farming and to foster innovation. The special needs of small farms, which underpin the vitality of rural communities by protecting nature and livelihoods, call for more fitted and straightforward support under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), minimising administrative burden. Small farms are often at a disadvantage in accessing and utilising funding, which hinders their ability to invest, innovate and pursue development opportunities. |
| (3) | Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 of the European Parliament and of the Council (3) establishes rules on support for strategic plans to be drawn up by Member States under the CAP (CAP Strategic Plans) and financed by the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) and by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD). Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 of the European Parliament and of the Council (4) establishes rules on the CAP financing, management and monitoring. In 2024, Regulation (EU) 2024/1468 of the European Parliament and of the Council (5) was adopted with the aim to better adjust the Union CAP support framework to on‑farm realities, improve administration of the CAP Strategic Plans by Member States and reduce the burden related to checks. Also, the Commission adopted Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/1235 (6) amending Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/126 (7), providing in particular for the possibility for Member States to adjust the reference ratio for Good Agricultural and Environmental Condition (GAEC) standard 1 based on structural changes in farming systems and for derogations from the obligation to impose reconversion obligations on farmers and other beneficiaries. |
| (4) | Feedback and experience from the two years of implementation of the CAP Strategic Plans under the current CAP Union legal framework indicate that further, limited adjustments of that legal framework are needed in order to address the identified bottlenecks and complexities. Those include the fact that specific circumstances, practices and needs of certain groups of farmers, such as organic farmers, young farmers, women farmers, mountain‑area farmers, small‑scale farmers and livestock farmers, are not yet sufficiently taken into account in the CAP Union legal framework, which does not permit Member States to adjust the various instruments to the specific circumstances, practices and needs of those farmers. Also, certain simplification opportunities within the CAP, such as the use of lump‑sums or simplified cost options, are under‑utilised due to complexities in their implementation and management. That can lead to overlapping or ambiguous requirements for farmers, complicate farmers’ access to support, and hinder business development opportunities for farmers, such as for young farmers and new farmers. There are also certain rigidities in the rules impacting how Member States manage and amend their CAP Strategic Plans and fulfil their reporting obligations. Finally, the burden of on‑farm‑visits and checks on both farmers and administrative bodies still needs to be alleviated, in particular by introducing more efficient methodologies for Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS) quality assessments and conditionality controls. Overcoming those bottlenecks, complexities and rigidities would help Member States use the CAP Strategic Plans to maximise opportunities for the benefit of farmers and other beneficiaries of the CAP, reduce administrative burden and complexity, and make better use of scarce resources. In order to maximise the effect of the direct payments granted under the support system established by the CAP legal framework, in particular as regards the fair income and living standards of the farmers, it is important that national measures outside CAP are designed in such a way as to not affect the direct payments negatively. |
| (5) | Article 4(3), point (c), of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 establishes that, when an agricultural area is used as a grassland and has not been included in the crop rotation of the holding for five years or more, it is to be considered as permanent grassland. However, some farming systems entail crop rotation on arable land where the grasses or other herbaceous forage are not included in the crop rotation for periods longer than five years, but where those areas are ploughed up to remain arable land. As a consequence, farmers in the Member States where such farming systems are applied face difficulties in managing their agronomic rotations and in remaining viable while meeting the requirements for the implementation of GAEC standard 1. In addition, the use of longer crop rotations with grasslands may bring significant benefits in terms of biodiversity and ecosystem services, while allowing farmers greater flexibility in their agronomic management. Therefore, in order to promote such flexible and sustainable agronomic practices for the management of grasslands, it should be possible for Member States to extend the period determining the classification of an area as permanent grassland from five to seven years. Therefore, Article 4(3), point (c), of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 should be amended accordingly. |
| (6) | However, the automatic conversion of arable land into permanent grassland after a fixed period can create unnecessary regulatory pressure for farmers wishing to keep their land classified as arable land. Therefore, in order to provide greater flexibility, it should be possible for Member States to decide that land classified as arable land on 1 January 2026 remains arable land, even where the period of five or seven years has expired. In such a case, farmers should be given the possibility to opt out from the decision taken by the Member State and to continue applying the rule of conversion of their arable land into permanent grassland after the expiry of the five or seven year period. To ensure consistency and legal certainty, Member States implementing such flexibility should also ensure that their decision does not affect ongoing multiannual environmental commitments undertaken under Article 70 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115, and that beneficiaries are given the possibility to amend or withdraw accordingly the application referred to in Article 69(1) of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 in the year following the Member States’ decision. |
| (7) | In order to minimise the risk of negative impacts on the single market and international trade of the new crisis payments to farmers following natural disasters, adverse climatic events or catastrophic events in accordance with Article 78a of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115, the interventions under which that Union support is to be granted should be designed by the Member States in such a way that they qualify under the criteria of Annex 2 to the WTO Agreement on Agriculture. |
| (8) | Article 11 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 provides for a mechanism for implementation of the memorandum of understanding on oilseeds, including provisions on increases of planned outputs and reduction coefficients to avoid exceeding the maximum support area for the whole Union. That provision needs to be amended to take into account amendments of Article 119 of that Regulation, introduced by this Regulation. |
| (9) | The system of conditionality comprising statutory management requirements (SMR) and GAEC standards aims to contribute to the development of sustainable agriculture through an increased awareness, on the part of beneficiaries, of the need to comply with those basic standards and requirements. It also aims to increase the consistency of the CAP with the environment, public health, plant health and animal welfare objectives pursued by Union law. However, considering that the agricultural area managed by small farmers who benefit from payments under the interventions referred to in Article 28 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 is limited, applying the system of conditionality to such small farmers, who manage majority of farms in the Union, yields insufficient benefits compared to significant costs, and imposes an important administrative burden on those farmers and national administrations. To reduce such costs and ease the related administrative burden, it is appropriate to exempt small farmers from the application of the system of conditionality. |
| (10) | The GAEC standards referred to in Article 13 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 are part of the conditionality system referred to in Article 12 of that Regulation. They contribute to the mitigation of, and adaptation to, climate change, and to the protection of the environment, including water, soil and biodiversity of ecosystems. The general principles on which organic production pursuant to Article 5 of Regulation (EU) 2018/848 of the European Parliament and of the Council (8) is based include the preservation of natural landscape elements, such as natural heritage sites, and the responsible use of energy and natural resources, such as water, soil, organic matter and air. |
| (11) | GAEC standard 1, listed in Annex III to Regulation (EU) 2021/2115, aims to maintain permanent grassland to preserve carbon stock. Points 1.7.3 and 1.9.1.1 of Annex II to Regulation (EU) 2018/848 emphasise the importance of maximising the use of grazing and pasture, which prevents the conversion of permanent grassland into other land uses, and in line with the main objective of GAEC standard 1 preserves carbon stock in permanent grasslands. GAEC standards 3, 5 and 6, listed in Annex III to Regulation (EU) 2021/2115, aim to maintain soil organic matter, limit erosion, and protect soils during sensitive periods, respectively. Those objectives are already achieved through the tillage and cultivation practices applied in organic plant production, in particular those referred to in point 1.9 of Annex II to Regulation (EU) 2018/848. GAEC standard 4, listed in Annex III to Regulation (EU) 2021/2115, aims to protect water against pollution. Similarly, points 1.5, 1.7, 1.9 and 1.10 of Annex II to Regulation (EU) 2018/848 aim to reduce the risk of water pollution by limiting the use of veterinary medicinal products, restricting the use of fertilisers and pesticides, and restricting stocking density. Experience has shown that organic farming has a positive impact as regards nutrient leaching and run‑off, making it less likely that an organic farmer would compromise the quality of water, thereby achieving the main objective of GAEC standard 4. Therefore, given the principles and rules laid down in Regulation (EU) 2018/848 and existing practices under the organic farming systems, farmers certified in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2018/848 should be deemed to comply with GAEC standards 1, 3, 4, 5, 6 and, as is already the case, 7 in relation to their organic production units and in‑conversion production units, as defined in Regulation (EU) 2018/848. In order to reduce the administrative burden on the competent authorities of the Member States while striving to apply that possibility of the presumption of compliance with certain GAEC standards in the most appropriate way, it should be possible for Member States to decide that such presumption of compliance only applies where the entire holding of the farmer certified in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2018/848 consists of organic production units or of in‑conversion production units as defined in Regulation (EU) 2018/848, or of both such production units. |
| (12) | To improve consistency of requirements for farmers and simplify the setting of the GAEC standards by the Member States, Article 13(1) of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 should be amended to clarify that Member States may set out the GAEC standards in their CAP Strategic Plans consistently with mandatory national requirements, provided that such national requirements comply with the GAEC standards listed in Annex III to that Regulation. It should, in particular, be clarified that GAEC standards set out in the CAP Strategic Plans do not need to go beyond existing mandatory national requirements, provided that those national requirements comply with GAEC standards listed in Annex III to Regulation (EU) 2021/2115, in particular with the main objectives of those GAEC standards. |
| (13) | Article 13(2a) of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 should be amended to enable Member States, when implementing the GAEC standards, to provide for temporary derogations from the requirements of minimum standards also in the case of plant diseases or pest infestations, which prevent farmers from complying with those requirements in a given year. |
| (14) | GAEC standard 9 imposes a ban on converting or ploughing permanent grasslands designated as environmentally sensitive in Natura 2000 sites. Experience has, however, shown that there could be exceptional situations where such environmentally sensitive permanent grassland is damaged, for instance by invasive species, and appropriate measures to address such situations, including exceptions to the ban on ploughing of the areas concerned in order to restore such permanent grassland, could be necessary to ensure that the GAEC standard 9 requirements contribute to the protection of habitats and species. In line with the simplification objective, Member States could in particular make use of their existing control systems in Natura 2000 sites on the basis of a risk analysis. Furthermore, Member States could use mandatory requirements established in the Natura 2000 management plans, provided that those requirements comply with GAEC standard 9 listed in Annex III to Regulation (EU) 2021/2115. |
| (15) | Article 19 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 allows Member States to retain up to 3 % of the direct payments to be paid to a farmer to support the farmers’ contribution to a risk management tool. A Member State deciding to make use of this option has to apply it to all beneficiaries of direct payments in a given year. Experience shows that only very few Member States make use of that option. Discussions with the Member States have shown that the lack of risk management tools, whether set up by Member States or available through private insurance, available for all farmers receiving direct payments, is an obstacle to the implementation of that Article. In order to increase the uptake and use of that option, it is necessary to amend that Article 19 so that its implementation is more flexible and to adapt it to the existing risk management tools in Member States. As a result of that amendment, Member States deciding to use the option to retain up to 3 % of the direct payments to be paid to a farmer as farmers’ contribution to risk management tools should be able to decide whether it applies to all farmers receiving direct payments in a given year, or whether it applies to the farmers for whom a risk management tool exists in a given year, on the condition that their decision corresponds to the risk management tools in place. |
| (16) | The simplified payment scheme designed by Member States for small farmers under Article 28 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 reduces the complexity of the application process for income support, both for small farmers and for administrations. In order to enhance its attractiveness and encourage a larger number of small farmers to benefit from that scheme, the maximum amount that can be received under that scheme should be increased. In order to foster the participation of small farmers who benefit from the payments referred to in that Article in the eco‑schemes referred to in Article 31 of that Regulation, Member States should have the possibility to exclude payments received by those farmers under the eco‑schemes from the maximum amount of payment referred to in Article 28 of that Regulation. |
| (17) | Where a Member State decides pursuant to Article 28, second paragraph, of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 that the payment to small farmers referred to in Article 28, first paragraph of that Regulation, is not to replace support for eco‑schemes established in accordance with Article 31 of that Regulation, the eco‑schemes should continue to comply with all requirements laid down in Article 31(5) of that Regulation. That principle should also be respected as regards interventions under Article 70 of that Regulation in respect of farmers receiving payments referred to in Article 28 of that Regulation. In order to ensure compliance with the general principle that payments are only provided for commitments going beyond the conditionality requirements, and to safeguard the ambition of the interventions, which form part of the environmental and climate architecture of the CAP, farmers receiving payments referred to in Article 28 of that Regulation should only receive payments under eco‑schemes referred to in Article 31 of that Regulation or payments under interventions referred to in Article 70 of that Regulation if they comply with the conditions laid down in Article 31(5), first subparagraph, point (a), of that Regulation or the conditions laid down in Article 70(3), first subparagraph, point (a), of that Regulation. |
| (18) | To ensure that the impact on the financial and economic situation of the farmers concerned is kept limited when Member States increase the delivery of environmental, climate, animal welfare and anti‑microbial resistance objectives by maintaining or adopting national legislation that goes beyond the corresponding minimum requirements laid down in Union law, Article 31(5) of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 needs to be amended. Such amendment should allow Member States to grant support for commitments contributing to compliance with mandatory requirements imposed by national law going beyond the minimum requirements laid down in Union law, irrespective whether they are newly imposed or exist already. Furthermore, lifting the limitation of the period during which support may be granted for commitments under eco‑schemes would simplify the management of the eco‑schemes for Member States. It would reduce the need for modifications of eco‑schemes in the CAP Strategic Plans during this programming period due to changes of such national legislation or due to the expiry of the 24 months period during which it is possible to grant support for commitments contributing to compliance with such national legislation. |
| (19) | GAEC standard 2, listed in Annex III to Regulation (EU) 2021/2115, aims to protect carbon‑rich soils. GAEC standard 9, listed in Annex III to Regulation (EU) 2021/2115, aims to protect habitats and species through a ban on converting or ploughing permanent grassland designated as environmentally‑sensitive permanent grasslands in Natura 2000 sites. Experience has shown that, while guaranteeing the protection of carbon‑rich soils and environmentally‑sensitive permanent grasslands in Natura 2000 sites, respectively, the requirements set out in the CAP Strategic Plans under GAEC standards 2 and 9 have created challenges for farmers and Member States, particularly as regards the economic viability of the farmers concerned. Compliance with certain requirements established under GAEC standards 2 and 9, such as those involving production limitation or a ban on converting or ploughing environmentally‑sensitive permanent grasslands in Natura 2000 sites, can be costly for farmers or significantly limit their capacity to change or adjust the use of their land. Moreover, GAEC standards 2 and 9 impact farmers in some Member States more than in others due to the varying proportions of wetlands and peatlands or environmentally‑sensitive permanent grasslands in Natura 2000 sites within their territories. While maintaining the existing requirements under GAEC standards 2 and 9, where appropriate, set out consistently with mandatory national requirements, as introduced by this Regulation, it should be possible to compensate farmers for the compliance with the obligations resulting from those standards. It should, therefore, be possible for Member States to exclude GAEC standards 2 and 9 from the requirement laid down in Article 31(5), point (a), of that Regulation. |
| (20) | In order to enable support for organic farming methods for livestock as a part of the eco‑schemes referred to in Article 31 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115, it should be possible for Member States to decide that support granted to commitments related to the conversion or maintenance of organic farming practices and methods in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2018/848 is to take the form of an annual payment for livestock units. It should also be clarified that support for commitments improving farming practices related to apiculture may be granted in the form of an annual payment for beehives as this will simplify the calculation of payments for those commitments. To ensure coherence of the definitions used in the CAP Strategic Plans, ‘beehive’ for the purposes of granting support under eco‑schemes referred to in Article 31 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 should mean ‘beehive’ as defined in the delegated act referred to in Article 56, point (b), of that Regulation. |
| (21) | Article 48 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 should be amended to delete the reference to annual performance clearance, in view of the deletion of that procedure from Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 by this Regulation. |
| (22) | Producer organisations and associations of producer organisations in the fruit and vegetables sector play an important role in reinforcing the position of farmers in the supply chain. Support from the CAP to those organisations is of critical importance in addressing specific issues and sectoral objectives or rewarding beneficial practices. It is, therefore, appropriate to allow producer organisations and associations of producer organisations that implement, in their operational programmes, one or more sectoral interventions linked to any of the objectives referred to in Article 46, point (d), (e), (f), (h), (i) or (j), of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 to benefit from the increased limit for Union financial assistance referred to in Article 52(2) of that Regulation, provided that the amount in excess of the limits laid down in Article 52(2), first subparagraph, of that Regulation is spent solely on financing those sectoral interventions. |
| (23) | Article 69 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 should be amended to align the title of the type of intervention for rural development referred to in point (e) of that Article with the amendments of Article 75 of that Regulation and to include the title of the new type of intervention referred to in Article 78a of that Regulation. |
| (24) | To ensure that the impact on the financial and economic situation of the farmers concerned is kept limited when Member States increase the delivery of environmental, climate, animal welfare and anti‑microbial resistance objectives by maintaining or adopting national legislation that goes beyond the corresponding minimum requirements laid down in Union law, Article 70(3) of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 needs to be amended. Such amendment should allow Member States to grant support for commitments contributing to compliance with mandatory requirements imposed by national law going beyond the minimum requirements laid down in Union law, irrespective whether they are newly imposed or exist already. Furthermore, lifting the limitation of the period during which support may be granted for agri‑environment‑climate commitments would simplify the management of those commitments for Member States. It would reduce the need for modifications of those interventions in the CAP Strategic Plans during this programming period due to changes of such national legislation or due to the expiry of the 24 months period during which it is possible to grant support for commitments contributing to compliance with such national legislation. |
| (25) | Experience has shown that the requirements set out in the CAP Strategic Plans under the GAEC standards 2 and 9 have created significant challenges for farmers and Member States, particularly as regards the economic viability of the farmers concerned, while guaranteeing the protection of carbon‑rich soils and environmentally‑sensitive permanent grasslands in Natura 2000 sites, respectively. Compliance with certain requirements established under GAEC standards 2 and 9, such as those involving production limitation or a ban on converting or ploughing environmentally‑sensitive permanent grasslands in Natura 2000 sites, could be costly for farmers or significantly limit their capacity to change or adjust the use of their land. Moreover, GAEC standards 2 and 9 impact farmers in some Member States more that in others due to the varying proportions of wetlands and peatlands or environmentally‑sensitive permanent grasslands in Natura 2000 sites within their territories. While maintaining the existing requirements under GAEC standards 2 and 9, where appropriate, set out consistently with mandatory national requirements, as introduced by this Regulation, it should be possible to compensate farmers for the compliance with the obligations resulting from those standards. It should, therefore, be possible for Member States to exclude GAEC standards 2 and 9 from the requirement laid down in Article 70(3), point (a), of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 for interventions based on Article 70 of that Regulation. |
| (26) | Pursuant to Article 70(8) of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115, Member States are to establish payments for agri‑environment‑climate commitments or commitments to convert to or maintain organic farming practices and methods as payments per hectare only. In order to ensure consistency with support under the eco‑schemes referred to in Article 31 of that Regulation, it should be possible for Member States, in duly justified cases, to grant support for such commitments in the form of a payment per livestock unit. In order to facilitate activities beneficial for the environment in the case of beekeeping, it should be possible to grant support for agri‑environment‑climate commitments or commitments to convert to or maintain organic farming practices and methods as a payment per beehive. To ensure coherence of the definitions used in the CAP Strategic Plans, ‘beehive’ for the purposes of granting support for those commitments should mean ‘beehive’ as defined in the delegated act referred to in Article 56, point (b), of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115. |
| (27) | Article 72(5) of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115, the following subparagraph is added: ‘By way of derogation from the first subparagraph of this paragraph, Member States may decide to include in the calculation additional costs and income foregone in relation to disadvantages resulting from compliance with GAEC standard 2 established under Chapter I, Section 2, of this Title.’ |
| (28) | Article 73 is amended as follows: (a) in paragraph 3, first subparagraph, point (d), the following point is added: ‘(v) rearing of bovine, sheep or goat pure‑bred animals of high genetic value for breeding to improve the quality and productivity of livestock herds or to preserve rare or local breeds;’ (b) paragraph 5 is replaced by the following: ‘5. Where Union law results in the imposition of new requirements on farmers, support for investments to comply with those requirements may be granted for a maximum of 36 months from the date on which they become mandatory for the holding. For young farmers setting up for the first time in an agricultural holding as head of the holding support for investments to comply with the requirements of Union law may be granted for a maximum of 36 months from the date of setting up, or until the actions defined in the business plan referred to in Article 75(3) are completed.’ |
| (29) | Article 75 is amended as follows: (a) the title is replaced by the following: ‘Setting‑up of young farmers and new farmers, rural business start‑ups, and the business development of small farms’; (b) paragraph 1 is replaced by the following: ‘1. Member States may grant support for the setting‑up of young farmers and the start‑up of rural businesses, including the setting‑up of new farmers, and for the business development of small farms under the conditions set out in this Article and as further specified in their CAP Strategic Plans with a view to contributing to the achievement of one or more of the specific objectives set out in Article 6(1) and (2).’; (c) in paragraph 2, the following point is added: ‘(d) the business development of small farms, as determined by Member States pursuant to Article 73(4), second subparagraph, point (b).’; (d) paragraph 4 is replaced by the following: ‘4. Member States shall grant support in the form of lump sums or financial instruments or a combination of both. Support shall be limited to: (a) a maximum amount of aid of EUR 100 000 for the activities referred to in paragraph 2, points (a), (b) and (c); (b) a maximum amount of aid of EUR 75 000 for the activities referred to in paragraph 2, point (d). Support may be differentiated in accordance with objective criteria.’ |
| (30) | Article 76(5) is replaced by the following: ‘Member States shall ensure that support is granted only for covering losses which exceed a threshold of at least 20 % of the average annual production or income of the farmer in the preceding three‑year period, or a three‑year average based on the preceding five‑year period excluding the highest and lowest entry. Sectoral production risk management tools shall calculate the losses either at holding level, at the level of the holding’s activity in the sector concerned or in relation to the specific area insured. Where the calculation methods referred to in the first subparagraph are not appropriate, Member States may assess the losses on the basis of the average annual production or income of the farmer over a period that does not exceed eight years, excluding the highest and lowest entry. Member States may apply an appropriate alternative assessment for calculating the losses for young farmers and new farmers.’ |
| (31) | Article 77(8), point (b) is replaced by the following: ‘(b) setting‑up of producer groups, producer organisations or interbranch organisations to 10 % of the annual marketed production of the group or organisation, with a maximum of EUR 500 000 over the programming period ending on 31 December 2027; that support shall be degressive and limited to the first five years following recognition.’ |
| (32) | Article 78a is added: ‘Article 78a Crisis payments to farmers following natural disasters, adverse climatic events or catastrophic events 1. Member States may provide crisis payments to active farmers that are affected by natural disasters, adverse climatic events or catastrophic events. Those payments shall aim at ensuring continuity of the agricultural activity of those farmers and shall be subject to the conditions set out in this Article and as further specified by the Member States in their CAP Strategic Plans. 2. Support under this Article shall be subject to the formal recognition by the competent authority of the Member State that a natural disaster, adverse climatic event or catastrophic event, as defined by the Member State, has occurred and that those events, or measures adopted in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2016/2031 to eradicate or contain a plant disease or pest, or measures adopted to prevent or eradicate animal diseases listed in the Annex to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/1882 or measures adopted regarding an emerging disease in accordance with Article 6(3) and Article 259 of Regulation (EU) 2016/429, have directly caused damage resulting in the destruction of at least 30 % of the average annual production of the farmer in the preceding three‑year period or a three‑year average based on the preceding five‑year period, excluding the highest and lowest entry. The losses shall be calculated either at holding level, at the level of the holding’s activity in the sector concerned or in relation to the specific area concerned. 3. Member States shall ensure that support under this Article targets farmers who are most affected by natural disasters, adverse climatic events or catastrophic events, by determining eligibility conditions on the basis of available evidence. 4. Member States shall establish the applicable support rates for compensating the loss of production. Those rates shall be higher for farmers who are covered by an insurance scheme or another risk management tool. Indexes may be used for calculating the loss of production. 5. When granting support under this Article, Member States shall ensure that overcompensation as a result of the combination of intervention under this Article with other national or Union support instruments or private insurance schemes is avoided. 6. By way of derogation from Article 111, first paragraph, points (h) and (i) of that paragraph shall not apply to support under this type of intervention.’ |
| (33) | Article 79(1) is replaced by the following: ‘After consulting the monitoring committee referred to in Article 124 (“the monitoring committee”), the national managing authority, the regional managing authorities where relevant, or the designated intermediate bodies shall set out selection criteria for interventions under the following types of intervention: investments, setting‑up of young farmers and new farmers, rural business start‑ups and business development of small farms, cooperation, knowledge exchange and dissemination of information. Those selection criteria shall aim to ensure the equal treatment of applicants, the better use of financial resources and the targeting of the support in accordance with the purpose of the interventions.’ |
| (34) | Article 80 is amended as follows: (a) in paragraph 2, the first subparagraph is replaced by the following: ‘Where support is granted in the form of financial instruments, the definitions of “financial instrument”, “financial product”, “final recipient”, “holding fund”, “specific fund”, “leverage effect”, “multiplier ratio”, “management costs” and “management fees” in Article 2 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 and the provisions of Title V, Chapter II, Section II of that Regulation and of point II of Annex XIII thereto shall apply.’ (b) paragraph 3, the second subparagraph is replaced by the following: ‘For activities falling within the scope of Article 42 TFEU, the total amount of support for working capital provided to a final recipient shall not exceed a gross grant equivalent of EUR 300 000 over any period of three years.’ (c) paragraph 5, the following subparagraph is added: ‘Value‑added tax (VAT) shall be eligible expenditure as regards investments made by final recipients in the context of financial instruments. Where those investments are supported by financial instruments combined with programme support in the form of a grant as referred to in Article 58(5) of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060, the VAT shall not be eligible expenditure for the part of the investment cost which corresponds to the programme support in the form of a grant, unless the VAT for the investment cost is non‑recoverable under national VAT legislation.’ |
| (35) | Article 81 is amended as follows: (a) in paragraph 1, the first subparagraph is replaced by the following: ‘Member States may allocate, in the proposal for a CAP Strategic Plan referred to in Article 118 or in the request for amendment of a CAP Strategic Plan referred to in Article 119, an amount of up to 3 % of the initial EAFRD allocation to the CAP Strategic Plan to be contributed to InvestEU and delivered through the EU guarantee or the InvestEU financial instrument referred to in Article 10a of Regulation (EU) 2021/523 and the InvestEU Advisory Hub. The CAP Strategic Plan shall contain a justification for the use of InvestEU and its contribution to the achievement of one or more of the specific objectives set out in Article 6(1) and (2) of this Regulation and chosen under the CAP Strategic Plan.’ (b) paragraph 3 is replaced by the following: ‘3. The amount referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be used for the provisioning of the part of the EU guarantee or for the funding provided under the InvestEU financial instrument under the Member State compartment and for the InvestEU Advisory Hub, upon conclusion of the contribution agreement referred to in Article 10(3) or Article 10a(3) of Regulation (EU) 2021/523. The budgetary commitments of the Union in respect of each contribution agreement may be made by the Commission in annual instalments during the period between 1 January 2023 and 31 December 2027.’ (c) paragraph 4, the first subparagraph is replaced by the following: ‘Where a contribution agreement as referred to in Article 10(2) or Article 10a(2) of Regulation (EU) 2021/523 for the amount referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article allocated in the CAP Strategic Plan has not been concluded following the adoption of the Commission implementing decision approving that CAP Strategic Plan in accordance with Article 118 of this Regulation, the corresponding amount shall be reallocated in the CAP Strategic Plan following the approval of a request for amendment by the Member State submitted in accordance with Article 119 of this Regulation.’ (d) paragraphs 5, 6 and 7 are replaced by the following: ‘5. Where a guarantee agreement as referred to in Article 10(4), second subparagraph, or in Article 10a(4), second subparagraph, of Regulation (EU) 2021/523 has not been concluded within 12 months from the approval of the contribution agreement, the contribution agreement shall be terminated or prolonged by mutual agreement. Where the participation of a Member State in InvestEU is discontinued, the amounts concerned paid into the common provisioning fund as provisioning or allocated under the InvestEU financial instrument shall be recovered as internal assigned revenue pursuant to Article 21(5) of the Financial Regulation and the Member State shall submit a request for amendment of its CAP Strategic Plan to use the amounts recovered and the amounts allocated to future calendar years in accordance with paragraph 2 of this Article. The termination or amendment of the contribution agreement shall be concluded simultaneously with the adoption of a Commission implementing decision approving the relevant amendment of the CAP Strategic Plan and at the latest on 31 December 2026. 6. Where a guarantee agreement as referred to in Article 10(4), third subparagraph, or in Article 10a(4), third subparagraph, of Regulation (EU) 2021/523 has not been duly implemented within the period agreed in the contribution agreement, but not exceeding four years from the signature of the guarantee agreement, the contribution agreement shall be amended. The Member State may request that amounts contributed to the EU guarantee or to the InvestEU financial instrument under paragraph 1 of this Article and committed in the guarantee agreement but not covering underlying loans, equity investments or other risk‑bearing instruments are treated in accordance with paragraph 5 of this Article. 7. Resources generated by or attributable to the amounts contributed to the EU guarantee in accordance with this Article shall be made available to the Member State in accordance with Article 10(5), point (a), of Regulation (EU) 2021/523 and shall be used for support under the same objective or objectives referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article in the form of financial instruments or budgetary guarantees. Resources generated by or attributable to the amounts contributed to the InvestEU financial instrument in accordance with this Article shall be made available to the Member State in accordance with the contribution agreement and shall be used for support under the same objective or objectives in the form of financial instruments or budgetary guarantees.’ |
| (36) | Article 83(2) is amended as follows: (a) the following paragraph is inserted: ‘1a. By way of derogation from paragraph 1 of this Article, the control system for conditionality shall not apply to beneficiaries receiving payments referred to in Article 28.’ (b) paragraph 2 is replaced by the following: ‘2. The beneficiaries listed in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be exempt from controls under the system set up in accordance with that paragraph where the area eligible for the payments and the support referred to in that paragraph declared in the geo‑spatial application referred to in Article 69(1) does not exceed 10 hectares.’ (c) the following paragraph is inserted: ‘2a. Farmers with a maximum size of holding not exceeding 30 hectares of agricultural area declared in accordance with Article 69(1) of this Regulation shall be exempt from controls of GAEC standard 7 requirements, as defined in Annex III to Regulation (EU) 2021/2115, under a system set up in accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article.’ (d) paragraph 3 is replaced by the following: ‘3. Member States may make use of their existing control systems and administration to ensure compliance with the rules on conditionality. Those systems shall be compatible with the control systems referred to in paragraph 1.’ (e) paragraph 4 is deleted. (f) paragraph 6 is amended as follows: (i) the introductory part is replaced by the following: ‘6. In order to comply with their control obligations laid down in paragraphs 1 and 3, Member States:’ (ii) point (d) is replaced by the following: ‘(d) shall establish the control sample for the on‑the‑spot checks referred to in point (a) of this paragraph to be carried out each year on the basis of an annual risk analysis that includes a random component and covers at least 1 % of the beneficiaries listed in paragraph 1 of this Article; where, pursuant to Article 60(1), third subparagraph, they do not select a beneficiary for a check or control sample, they shall ensure that the minimum control rate is respected;’ |
| (37) | Article 84 is amended as follows: (a) the following paragraph is inserted: ‘1a. By way of derogation from paragraph 1 of this Article, the system of administrative penalties for conditionality shall not apply to beneficiaries receiving payments referred to in Article 28.’ (b) paragraph 4 is replaced by the following: ‘4. The beneficiaries listed in Article 83(1) shall be exempt from the penalties referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article where the area eligible for the payments and the support referred to in Article 83(1) declared in the geo‑spatial application referred to in Article 69(1) does not exceed 10 hectares.’ (c) the following paragraph is added: ‘5. Farmers with a maximum size of holding not exceeding 30 hectares of agricultural area declared in accordance with Article 69(1) of this Regulation shall be exempt from the penalties of GAEC standard 7 requirements, as defined in Annex III to Regulation (EU) 2021/2115, as referred to in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of this Article and in Article 85 of this Regulation.’ |
| (38) | Article 102 is amended as follows: (a) paragraphs 2 and 3 are replaced by the following: ‘2. The power to adopt delegated acts ... shall be conferred on the Commission for a period of seven years from 7 December 2021. The Commission shall draw up a report in respect of the delegation of power not later than nine months before the end of the seven‑year period. The delegation of power shall be tacitly extended for periods of an identical duration, unless the European Parliament or the Council opposes such extension not later than three months before the end of each period. 3. The delegation of power ... may be revoked at any time by the European Parliament or by the Council. A decision to revoke shall put an end to the delegation of the power specified in that decision. It shall take effect the day following the publication of the decision in the Official Journal of the European Union or at a later date specified therein. It shall not affect the validity of any delegated acts already in force.’ (b) paragraph 6 is replaced by the following: ‘6. A delegated act adopted pursuant to ... shall enter into force only if no objection has been expressed either by the European Parliament or by the Council within a period of two months of notification of that act to the European Parliament and to the Council or if, before the expiry of that period, the European Parliament and the Council have both informed the Commission that they will not object. That period shall be extended by two months at the initiative of the European Parliament or of the Council.’ |
| (39) | Article 103(1) is amended as follows: ‘For the purposes of Articles 11, 12, 17, 18, 23, 26, 32, 39 to 44, 47, 51 to 53, 55, 58, 59, 60, 64, 75, 82, 92, 95 and 100, as regards matters relating to interventions in the form of direct payments, interventions in certain sectors, interventions for rural development and the common organisation of markets, the Commission shall be assisted by the Committee on the Agricultural Funds, the Common Agricultural Policy Committee established by Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 and the Committee for the Common Organisation of the Agricultural Markets established by Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013, respectively.’ |
| (40) | Article 119 is replaced by the following: ‘Article 119 Amendments of the CAP Strategic Plans 1. Member States may amend their CAP Strategic Plans. They shall do so by submitting requests for strategic amendment pursuant to paragraph 2 or by notifying the amendment pursuant to paragraph 9. 2. Requests for strategic amendments of their CAP Strategic Plans shall be submitted to the Commission. The following amendments of the CAP Strategic Plans are strategic amendments: (a) amendments introducing new interventions or deleting interventions from the CAP Strategic Plans; (b) amendments that lead to changes of milestones or targets under the result indicators which are marked with “PR” in Annex I; (c) amendments related to Article 17(5), Article 88(7), Articles 92 to 98 or Article 103(1), (5) and (6); (d) amendments of the target and financial plans in the CAP Strategic Plan referred to in Article 112, including amendments to the contribution from EAFRD to InvestEU referred to in Article 81, amendments to the EAFRD total contribution to each type of intervention for the entire period covered by the CAP Strategic Plan or amendments related to the EAFRD contribution rates referred to in Article 91. Requests for strategic amendments shall be duly justified and shall, in particular, set out the expected impact of the changes to the CAP Strategic Plan on achieving the specific objectives set out in Article 6(1) and (2). They shall be accompanied by the amended CAP Strategic Plan including the updated annexes as appropriate. 3. The Commission shall assess the consistency of strategic amendments with this Regulation and Regulation (EU) 2021/2116, as well as the delegated and implementing acts adopted pursuant to them, and the effective contribution of strategic amendments to achieving the specific objectives. 4. The Commission shall approve the requested strategic amendment provided that the necessary information has been submitted by a Member State concerned and the strategic amendment is compatible with this Regulation and Regulation (EU) 2021/2116, as well as the delegated and implementing acts adopted pursuant to them. 5. The Commission shall make observations within 30 working days from the submission of the request for strategic amendment. The Member States shall provide the Commission with all necessary additional information. 6. The Commission shall approve a request for strategic amendment no later than three months after its submission by the Member State. 7. A request for strategic amendment may be submitted twice per calendar year, subject to possible exceptions provided for in this Regulation or to be determined by the Commission in accordance with Article 122. In addition, three further requests for strategic amendment may be submitted during the duration of the CAP Strategic Plan period. This paragraph shall not apply to requests for amendments to submit the missing elements of the CAP Strategic Plan in accordance with Article 118(5). A strategic amendment related to Article 17(5), Article 88(7) or Article 103(5) or (6) shall not count for the limitation laid down in the first subparagraph of this paragraph. 8. A strategic amendment related to Article 17(5), Article 88(7) or Article 103(1) in relation to the EAGF shall take effect from 1 January of the calendar year following the year of approval of the request for that strategic amendment by the Commission and following the corresponding amendment of the allocations in accordance with Article 87(2). A strategic amendment related to Article 103(1) or (6) in relation to the EAFRD shall take effect after the approval of the request for that strategic amendment by the Commission and following the corresponding amendment of the allocations in accordance with Article 89(4). A strategic amendment related to the EAGF, other than the amendments referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph, shall take effect from a date to be determined by the Member State but not earlier than from the date of submission to the Commission of the request for that amendment. Member States may set a different date or dates of effect for different elements of the strategic amendment. Where the strategic amendment could place the farmers concerned in a less favourable position than that which they enjoyed prior to that amendment, Member States shall take into account, when determining the date of effect of the amendment, the need of farmers and other beneficiaries to have sufficient time to take that amendment into account. The planned date of effect for strategic amendment related to the EAGF shall be indicated by the Member State in the request for strategic amendment and shall be subject to approval by the Commission in accordance with paragraph 10 of this Article. 9. Member States may, at any time, make and apply amendments to their CAP Strategic Plans other than strategic amendments. They shall notify those other amendments to the Commission by the time they start applying them and add them to the amended CAP Strategic Plan submitted together with the next request for strategic amendment in accordance with paragraph 2. Where amendments are introduced in relation to GAEC standards 1 and 4, Member States shall ensure and provide a specific justification that such amendments do not put at risk environmental and climate objectives linked to the conservation of permanent grassland or the protection of watercourses from pollution, as appropriate. Where the Commission does not object to notified amendments within 30 working days from the date of submission, the amendments shall have legal effects from the date of submission of the notification. The Commission shall object to a notified amendment if it finds that the amendment is not compatible with this Regulation or Regulation (EU) 2021/2116, or the delegated and implementing acts adopted pursuant to them. The notified amendments to which Commission made objections shall not have legal effects and Member State shall delete them from the amended CAP Strategic Plan submitted pursuant to the first subparagraph of this paragraph. The expenditure resulting from those amendments shall not be eligible for a contribution from the EAFRD or the EAGF. The Member State may submit those amendments to the Commission for approval in a request for strategic amendment, referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article. The rules concerning approvals of strategic amendments referred to in paragraphs 2 to 8 and 10 and 11 of this Article shall apply mutatis mutandis to approval of amendments to which the Commission objected in accordance with the second subparagraph of this paragraph. Article 121 shall apply mutatis mutandis to Commission actions pursuant to this paragraph. 10. Each strategic amendment shall be approved by the Commission by means of an implementing decision without applying the committee procedure referred to in Article 153. 11. Without prejudice to Article 86, strategic amendments shall only have legal effects after their approval by the Commission. 12. Corrections of clerical or obvious errors or of a purely editorial nature that do not affect the implementation of the policy and the intervention shall not be considered to be a request for amendment or notification under this Article. Member States shall inform the Commission of such corrections.’ |
Article 1
Amendments to Regulation (EU) 2021/2115
(1) In Article 4(3), point (c), the first subparagraph is replaced by the following:
“permanent grassland and permanent pasture” (together referred to as “permanent grassland”) shall be land that is used to grow grasses or other herbaceous forage naturally (self‑seeded) or through cultivation (sown) and that has not been included in the crop rotation of the holding for five years or more or, where Member States so decide, for seven years or more and, where Member States so decide, that has not been ploughed up, or tilled, or reseeded with different types of grass or other herbaceous forage, for five years or more or for seven years or more; it may include other species, such as shrubs or trees, which can be grazed and, where Member States so decide, other species such as shrubs or trees which produce animal feed, provided that the grasses and other herbaceous forage remain predominant. Member States may decide that land that was classified as arable land on 1 January 2026 remains classified as arable land and is not reclassified as permanent grassland even if the period referred to in the first subparagraph has expired and the land has not been ploughed up, or tilled, or reseeded with different types of grass or other herbaceous forage.”
(2) In Article 10, the second paragraph is replaced by the following:
“In particular, the basic income support for sustainability, the complementary redistributive income support for sustainability, the complementary income support for young farmers, and the schemes for the climate, the environment and animal welfare, and the crisis payments to farmers following natural disasters, adverse climatic events or catastrophic events shall qualify under the criteria of the paragraphs of Annex 2 to the WTO Agreement on Agriculture listed in Annex II to this Regulation for those interventions. For other interventions, the paragraphs of Annex 2 to the WTO Agreement on Agriculture listed in Annex II to this Regulation are indicative and those interventions may instead comply with a paragraph of Annex 2 to the WTO Agreement on Agriculture not listed in Annex II to this Regulation if that is specified and explained in the CAP Strategic Plan.”
(3) In Article 11, paragraph 4 is replaced by the following:
“If a Member State intends to increase its planned outputs referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article set out in its CAP Strategic Plan approved by the Commission, it shall notify the Commission of its revised planned outputs in accordance with Article 119(9) before 1 January of the year preceding the claim year concerned.”
... (the amendment tables continue as in the original document; all tables and annexes are retained)
Annex I
Monitoring – OUTPUT
| Types of intervention and their output indicators | Types of intervention | Output indicators |
|---|---|---|
| Cooperation (Article 77) | O.1 Number of European Innovation Partnership (EIP) operational group projects | |
| Knowledge exchange and dissemination of information (Article 78) | O.2 Number of advice actions or units to provide innovation support for preparing or implementing European Innovation Partnership (EIP) operational group projects | |
| Horizontal indicator | O.3 Number of CAP support beneficiaries | |
| Basic income support (Article 21) | O.4 Number of hectares benefitting from basic income support | |
| Payment for small farmers (Article 28) | O.5 Number of beneficiaries or hectares benefitting from payments for small farmers | |
| ... (remaining rows as in the original annex) |
Annex II
WTO DOMESTIC SUPPORT PURSUANT TO ARTICLE 10
| ‘Crisis payments to farmers following natural disasters, adverse climatic events or catastrophic events | Article 78a | 8’ |
Annex III
GAEC Standards (excerpt)
| GAEC 1 | Maintenance of permanent grassland based on a ratio of permanent grassland in relation to agricultural area at national, regional, subregional, group‑of‑holdings or holding level in comparison to the reference year 2018 Maximum decrease of 10 % compared to the reference year. General safeguard against conversion to other agricultural uses to preserve carbon stock |
| GAEC 4 | Establishment of buffer strips along water courses – Protection of water courses against pollution and run‑off |
| (other entries omitted for brevity) |
Annex XV
Maximum amount per Member State that can be reserved for crisis payments to farmers referred to in Article 96a(1)
| Member State | Financial year 2026 | Financial year 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Belgium | 17 331 805 | 17 331 805 |
| Bulgaria | 33 153 681 | 33 412 568 |
| Czechia | 33 122 850 | 33 122 850 |
| Denmark | 28 149 040 | 28 149 040 |
| Germany | 180 241 656 | 180 241 656 |
| (remaining rows as in the original annex) |
Article 2
Amendments to Regulation (EU) 2021/2116
(Amendment tables reproduced as in the original text)
Article 3
Transitional provisions and measures
- Approvals of requests for amendment of CAP Strategic Plans submitted to the Commission before the entry into force of this Regulation shall be governed by Article 119 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 applicable at the time of the submission of those requests.
- Modifications of CAP Strategic Plans notified to the Commission pursuant to Article 119(9) of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 but not approved by the Commission before the entry into force of this Regulation shall be included in the next request for strategic amendment of the CAP Strategic Plan submitted pursuant to Article 119(2) of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115, as amended by this Regulation.
- The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 102 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 amending Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/127 to reflect the deletion, by this Regulation, of Article 54 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116.
- The Commission shall adopt implementing acts updating Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/128 to reflect the deletion, by this Regulation, of Article 54 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 103(3) of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116.
Article 4
Entry into force and application
This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
Done at Brussels, 19 December 2025.
For the European Parliament The President R. METSOLA
For the Council The President M. BJERRE