Commission Decision (EU) 2018/672Show full title

Commission Decision (EU) 2018/672

of 15 December 2016

on the long-term national aid scheme for agriculture in the northern regions of Finland

(notified under document C(2016) 8419)

(Only the Finnish and Swedish texts are authentic)

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to the Act of Accession to the European Union of Austria, Finland and Sweden, and in particular Article 142 thereof,

Whereas:

(1) By Decision 95/196/EC(1) the Commission had approved the long-term national aid scheme for agriculture in the northern regions of Finland (‘Nordic aid scheme’) as notified by Finland pursuant to Article 143 of the Act of Accession with a view to authorisation under Article 142 of the Act of Accession. Decision 95/196/EC was replaced by Commission Decision C(2009) 3067 of 30 April 2009(2). That Decision was last amended by Commission Decision C(2015) 2790 of 30 April 2015.

(2) On 12 October 2015 Finland proposed that the Commission amend Decision C(2009) 3067 in order to simplify the administration of the scheme and to take account of the changes in the common agricultural policy as well as of the economic developments in the agriculture in the northern regions of Finland. By letter of 8 June 2016 Finland modified the proposal and sent additional information on the agricultural production in its northern regions.

(3) Given the resulting amendments to Decision C(2009) 3067 and the number of previous amendments, it is appropriate to replace that Decision by a new Decision.

(4) The long-term national aid referred to in Article 142 of the Act of Accession is intended to ensure that agricultural activity is maintained in northern regions as determined by the Commission.

(5) Taking account of the factors referred to in Article 142(1) and (2) of the Act of Accession, the national aid under that Article should be limited to areas situated north of the 62nd parallel or adjacent to that parallel and which are affected by comparable climatic conditions rendering agricultural activity particularly difficult. The municipality (kunta) should be chosen as the relevant administrative unit, including municipalities surrounded by others within such areas, even where they do not satisfy the same requirements.

(6) In order to facilitate the administration of the scheme and to coordinate it with support under Regulations (EU) No 1305/2013(3) and (EU) No 1307/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council(4), as well as national aid schemes, it is appropriate to include in the areas receiving aid under this Decision the same municipalities as those belonging to the area delimited under the second subparagraph of Article 32(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 in the Rural Development Programme Mainland Finland 2014-2020.

(7) The reference period in relation to which the development of agricultural production and the level of overall support is to be considered, using the national statistics available as a basis, should remain the same as in Decision C(2009) 3067 and cover 1991, 1992 and 1993 as regards agricultural production.

(8) According to Article 142 of the Act of Accession, the total amount of the aid granted should be sufficient to maintain agricultural activity in the northern regions of Finland but may not lead to overall support exceeding the level of support during a pre-accession reference period. Therefore it is necessary to take income aid under the common agricultural policy into account when determining the maximum allowable level of aid under that Article. On the basis of 2016 data, the maximum annual aid amount should be set at EUR 563,9 million, calculated as an average over a 5–year period from 1 January 2017 until 31 December 2021.

(9) In order to simplify the Nordic aid scheme and to allow Finland flexibility in directing the aid to different production sectors, while ensuring a balanced distribution of the aid among the sectors, the maximum average annual aid amount should be divided between the aid categories animal husbandry, plant production and other Nordic aid. For cow's milk production it is appropriate to set a separate maximum average annual aid amount, which is sufficient to maintain the production in the northern regions of Finland.

(10) The aid should be granted annually on the basis of production factors (such as livestock units and ha) within the total limits laid down by this Decision.

(11) The aid to reindeers should be granted per animal and limited to the traditional number of reindeers in the northern regions of Finland. For the storage of wild berries and mushrooms it should be allowed to pay the aid per kg and for the aid to transport of milk and meat and services indispensable for animal husbandry according to the costs incurred, deducting any other public payments towards the same costs.

(12) For cow's milk it should be allowed to pay the aid in kg/milk in order to maintain the incentive to efficient production.

(13) Farm income data from Finland indicate considerable annual volatility of farm income in the northern regions, in particular since 2008. With a view to allowing prompt reactions to the volatility and to maintaining agricultural activities in the northern regions of Finland, it is appropriate to allow Finland to establish, for each calendar year, the amount of aid per sector within an aid category and per unit of production.

(14) In this regard, Finland should differentiate the aid in its northern regions and set the annual aid amounts according to the severity of the natural handicap and other objective and transparent and justified criteria relating to the objectives set out in the third subparagraph of Article 142(3) of the Act of Accession, which are to maintain traditional primary production and processing particularly suited to the climatic conditions of the regions concerned, to improve the structures for the production, marketing and processing of agricultural products, to facilitate the disposal of the said products and to ensure that the environment is protected and countryside preserved.

(15) In order to ensure regular payments over the calendar year, Finland should be allowed to pay the aid for a given year using advances based on initial estimates of the number of production factors and production units and pay aid for milk production in monthly instalments based on actual production.

(16) Overcompensation to the producers should be avoided by recovering undue payments before 1 June of the following year.

(17) As provided in Article 142(2) of the Act of Accession, the aid granted under this Decision should not lead to an increase in overall production over the traditional production level in the area covered by the Nordic aid scheme.

(18) Therefore it is necessary to establish an annual maximum number of eligible production factors for each aid category, including a separate maximum for the number of dairy cows, at a level equal to or lower than that in the reference periods.

(19) As regards the number of dairy cows, account should be taken of the development of production quantity per production factor since the reference periods. Therefore the maximum eligible number of dairy cows should be established based on an average production per cow in the period 2004 to 2013.

(20) The aid for the breeding, processing and marketing of reindeer should be granted avoiding overcompensation in conjunction with the aid granted in accordance with Article 213 of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council(5).

(21) As regards plant production, in order to allow flexibility in the use of agricultural land between different production sectors, the maximum allowed area should be 944 300 ha, as set in Annex II to Decision C(2009)3067 as amended by Decision C(2015)2790, which may include a maximum of 481 200 ha grassland.

(22) For greenhouse production a separate maximum allowed area should be set at 203 ha, which corresponds to the traditional area of production in the northern regions of Finland.

(23) Where the number of production factors in a category exceeds the maximum number in a given year, the number of eligible production factors should be reduced by a corresponding number of production factors in the calendar year following the year in which the maximum was exceeded.

(24) In accordance with Article 143(2) of the Act of Accession, Finland is to provide to the Commission information on the implementation and effects of the aid. In order to better assess the long-term effects of the aid and with a view to setting the aid levels as 5-year averages, it is appropriate to report on the socioeconomic effects of the aid every five years and provide annual reports containing the financial and other implementation information necessary to ensure that the conditions laid down in this Decision are complied with.

(25) Finland should ensure that appropriate control measures are taken vis-à-vis aid beneficiaries. In order to ensure the effectiveness of those measures and transparency in the implementation of the scheme, those control measures should be as far as possible aligned to those carried out under the common agricultural policy.

(26) Decision C(2009)3067 should therefore be repealed,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

(1)

Commission Decision 95/196/EC of 4 May 1995 on the long-term national aid scheme for agriculture in the northern regions of Finland (OJ L 126, 9.6.1995, p. 35).

(2)

Commission Decision C(2009) 3067 of 30 April 2009 on the long-term national aid scheme for agriculture in the northern regions of Finland.

(3)

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, p. 487).

(4)

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, p. 608).

(5)

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, p. 671).