Article 2Amendments to Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013

Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 is amended as follows:

  1. (1)

    Article 26 is amended as follows:

    1. (a)

      paragraph 2 is deleted;

    2. (b)

      paragraphs 3 and 4 are replaced by the following:

      ‘3.

      The Commission shall, by 30 June of the calendar year in respect of which the adjustment rate applies, adopt implementing acts fixing the adjustment rate. Such implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 116(2).

      4.

      Until 1 December of the calendar year in respect of which the adjustment rate applies, the Commission may, on the basis of new information, adopt implementing acts adapting the adjustment rate set in accordance with paragraph 3. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 116(2).’;

  2. (2)

    in Article 38, paragraph 3 is replaced by the following:

    ‘3.

    In the event of legal proceedings or of an administrative appeal having suspensory effect, the period for automatic decommitment referred to in paragraph 1 or paragraph 2 shall, in respect of the amount relating to the operations concerned, be interrupted for the duration of those proceedings or that administrative appeal, provided that the Commission receives a substantiated notification from the Member State by 31 January of year N + 4.’;

  3. (3)

    in Article 43(1), point (a) is replaced by the following:

    ‘(a)

    sums which under Articles 40, 52 and 54 and, as regards expenditure under the EAGF, under Article 41(2) and Article 51 must be paid to the Union's budget, including interest thereon;’;

  4. (4)

    in Article 54(3), point (a)(ii) is replaced by the following:

    ‘(ii)

    the amount to be recovered from the beneficiary in the context of an individual payment for an aid scheme or support measure, not including interest, falls between EUR 100 and EUR 250 and the Member State concerned applies a threshold equal to or higher than the amount to be recovered under its national law for not pursuing national debts.’;

  5. (5)

    in Article 63(1), the following subparagraph is added:

    ‘Where the non-compliance concerns national or Union rules on public procurement, the part of the aid not to be paid or to be withdrawn shall be determined on the basis of the gravity of the non-compliance and in accordance with the principle of proportionality. The legality and regularity of the transaction shall only be affected up to the level of the part of the aid not to be paid or to be withdrawn.’;

  6. (6)

    in Article 72, paragraph 2 is replaced by the following:

    ‘2.

    By way of derogation from point (a) of paragraph 1 of this Article, Member States may decide that:

    (a)

    agricultural parcels of an area of up to 0,1 ha on which an application for payment is not made do not need to be declared, provided that the sum of such parcels does not exceed 1 ha, and/or may decide that a farmer who does not apply for any area-based direct payment does not have to declare his agricultural parcels in the case where the total area does not exceed 1 ha. In all cases, the farmer shall indicate in his application that he has agricultural parcels at his disposal and, at the request of the competent authorities, shall indicate their location;

    (b)

    farmers participating in the small farmer scheme as referred to in Title V of Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013 do not need to declare the agricultural parcels on which an application for payment is not made, unless such a declaration is required for the purpose of other aid or support.’;

  7. (7)

    the third and fourth subparagraphs of Article 75(1) are replaced by the following:

    ‘Notwithstanding the first and second subparagraphs of this paragraph, Member States may:

    1. (a)

      prior to 1 December but not before 16 October, pay advances of up to 50 % for direct payments;

    2. (b)

      prior to 1 December, pay advances of up to 75 % for the support granted under rural development as referred to in Article 67(2).

    With regard to support granted under rural development, as referred to in Article 67(2), the first and second subparagraphs of this paragraph shall apply in respect of the aid applications or payment claims submitted from claim year 2019.’.