EUROPEAN COMMISSION DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT SUMMARY REPORT

Transcription

1 EUROPEAN COMMISSION DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT Directorate G. Horizontal aspects of rural development G.3. European Network and monitoring of rural development policy SUMMARY REPORT OF THE 47TH MEETING OF THE COMMITTEE ON RURAL DEVELOPMENT 15 DECEMBER 2010 N 1 Adoption of the report of the 46th meeting of the Rural Development Committee held on 19 November The minutes of the Committee are adopted with a qualified majority (BG not represented). OPINION OF THE COMMITTEE ON DRAFT DECISIONS APPROVING RURAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES FOR THE PROGRAMMING PERIOD N 2 DRAFT COMMISSION REGULATION laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005, as regards the implementation of control procedures as well as cross-compliance in respect of rural development support measures Presentation of the revised Draft Regulation in all EU languages, and of the table of MS' comments following the RDC of November. The EN version of the draft Regulation is the authentic version. Any translation issues with the other EU languages are requested to be sent to AGRI-G1@ec.europa.eu by 3 January Discussion. The Commission will provide a clarification of Article 18 which will be included in the Minutes. Vote: The draft Regulation is approved with a qualified majority (DE against, CZ abstention, BG not represented). Motivation of DE vote against: Article 18 does not meet with DE approval. The amendments enter the political field which is not deemed relevant for the technical nature of the Regulation. In the current economic climate the spirit of simplification has not been respected and a heavier burden is imposed on MS. Motivation of CZ abstention: Due to the mixing of cross-compliance and control in Article 18. The clarification of Article 18 should be integrated into the Regulation. Commission européenne, B-1049 Bruxelles / Europese Commissie, B-1049 Brussel - Belgium. Telephone: (32-2) Office: L-130 6/209. Telephone: direct line (32-2) victoria.payne@ec.europa.eu

2 INFORMATION AND DISCUSSION N 3 EAFRD Financial execution Presentation of the financial execution of RDPs at the end November 2010: Payments for the EAFRD advanced in November by 3.08 billion, relating to complementary advances and Q payment claims, and amounting to billion in total. The overall execution rate of credits available in budget year 2010 improved in November from 62.5% to 88.5%. Financial corrections, Derogations for settlement schedules: The COM notified Bulgaria, Greece and Portugal of exclusions of certain expenditure from financing under EAFRD (COM Decision 2010/668/EU). Bulgaria and Greece subsequently requested a derogation (in accordance with the third subparagraph of Article 11(4) of Reg. 885/2006) not to settle the financial corrections in one instalment but three. The COM agreed to these requests, but wishes to remind MS that such derogations should always be exceptional and justified only where the materiality of the deductions so warrants. Closure of programmes: The 3 closure documents were received by 31 March 2010 for a first wave of 40 programmes and by 30 September 2010 for a second wave of 106 programmes. 11 programmes are already closed. In addition, it is expected that 7 programmes will be closed by the end of the year and the pre-closure letter will be sent for 23 others. With this perspective confirmed, the balance of the year 2010 for the 152 EAGGF programmes to be closed will be as following : Programmes closed : 18, Pre-closure letters sent : 23, In addition to these 41 programmes, the final reports and the winding up declarations will have been approved for respectively: 5 and 26 other programmes. National computer management systems: MS were reminded to submit their completed questionnaires by 17 December to AGRI-G2@ec.europa.eu Discussion. N 4 Control of agri-environmental measures Presentation by Mr. Osterburg, Johann Heinrich von Thünen-Institute Presentation by Mr. Osterburg entitled 'Reduction of nitrogen fertilisation monitoring and control' outlining the requirements for the verifiability of AEM commitments, the control criteria used and the results obtained from examples from Thuringia, Saxony-Anhalt and Brandenburg. N 5 High Nature Value (HNV) methodology follow-up Launch of ex-post RDP evaluation Postponed to the RDC of January N 6 Simplification of delivery mechanisms in RD interaction with other EU funds Presentation of the issues and comments from MS related to the coordination mechanism and complementarity between EU funds, and the harmonization of 2

3 eligibility rules, as laid out in the working document. MS are invited to forward any additional comments at their earliest convenience before the COM starts internal discussions on these issues. N 7 Transitional agri-environmental rules Postponed to the RDC of January N 8 Rural/Urban definitions Further to the RDC of November comments were received from SE concerning the classification of the Norbotten region, and from IT concerning the classification of the NUTS3 region of the Provincia Autonoma di Trento, and the methodology applied to the classification of regions. These comments are noted. The Committee was informed that the new methodology should be considered as a first definition; work will continue with Eurostat and other relevant Commission services which may lead to further adaptations in the future. As the methodology does not have any consequence on funding or on programmes, the COM cannot make adjustments for individual countries. No discussion. N 9 Commission Regulation N 1974/ support for rural development by EAFRD: Presentation of draft working document on future amendments Presentation of the non-paper of proposed amendments to Reg. 1974/2006. Further discussion will take place at the January RDC, after which it is proposed to present the Regulation for vote at the February Committee. N 10 State of play of Leader implementation: EN RD Focus Groups, Special Report N 5/2010 of the Court of Auditors and follow-up by the Commission, update of the " Guide for the application of the Leader axis of the RDPs funded by the EAFRD " Presentation of the Special Report N 5/21010 of the European Court of Auditors (ECA) outlining recommendations made and follow-up action by the Commission, covering following main areas: The main recommendations of the ECA covered: The responsibility of the LAG to implement Leader features and soundness of their financial management: - Exclusion of projects started before a grant decision has been made, to eliminate a major risk of inefficiency deadweight; - LAGs' selection of projects to be based on documented assessments that demonstrate the soundness and fairness of the decision; - Rules to ensure that the partnerships are not dominated by local authorities at project selection meetings; - Conflict of interest ensure that effective safeguards are in place and are operating properly. 3

4 The Commission's and Member States' management of Leader programmes: - The de facto top-down system imposed by most MAs audited, which require LAGs to implement the common RDP measures contrary to COM's guidance review existing measures; - MS selected LAGs with weak strategies; as a result the EU budget is being implemented in a way that is less efficient, less effective and with less potential added value than could have been achieved LAGs' strategies to be reviewed and LAGS to be required to set measurable objectives. - In view of its responsibility to ensure sound financial management of the EU budget, the COM should check future programmes in sufficient detail for the specific elements that are fundamental to the added value, effectiveness and efficiency of Leader; - COM to take urgent steps to ensure that it can account for the added value and sound financial management of Leader; to ensure that the supervisory and control systems provide assurance on the fairness and transparency of procedures; comparable data on costs; and complement the monitoring of effectiveness and efficiency. Presentation on the revised "Guide for the application of the Leader axis of the RDPs funded by the EAFRD" Initially presented in 2006, the Guide has been revised following the start of the implementation of the Leader axis, the work of the EN RD Focus groups, and the recommendation by the ECA. Updates include: support to innovation; LAGs' administrative and animation capacity; minimum tasks of the LAGs, LAG internal procedures and possibilities offered through the regulatory framework; monitoring and evaluation of the local developed strategy. A new Chapter is introduced on the implementation of local development strategy, covering: controls; fund matching; monitoring and evaluation at RDP level and at LAG strategy level. MS are invited to submit any comments they may have on the revised Guide. The presentation on EN RD focus groups will take place at the January RDC. No discussion: COM: The next meeting is foreseen on Wednesday 26 January signé José Manuel SOUSA UVA Director 4

5 Participants 47th Rural Development Committee 15 December 2010 MS Ministry or Organisation Participants BE Ministerie van Landbouw/Ministère de l Agriculture 2 BG Ministry of Agriculture 1 CZ Ministry of Agriculture 2 DK Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries Directorate for Food, Fisheries and Agri Business 2 DE Bundesministerium für Verbraucherschutz und Landwirtschaft 4 EE Ministry of Agriculture 2 EL Ministère de l Agriculture, Direction de la Programmation et des Structures Agricoles 2 ES Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Medio Rural y Marino 3 FR Ministère de l Agriculture, de l alimentation, de la pêche et des affaires rurales 2 IE Department of Agriculture 2 IT Ministero delle Politiche Agricole, Alimentari e Forestali 3 CY Ministry of Agriculture 1 LV Ministry of Agriculture 3 LT Ministry of Agriculture 2 LU Ministère de l Agriculture, de la Viticulture et du Développement rural 1 HU Ministry of Agriculture 2 MT Ministry of Rural Affairs and the Environment 1 NL Ministerie van Landbouw, Natuurbeheer en Voedselkwaliteit 2 AT Bundesministerium für Land- und Forstwirtschaft, Umwelt und Wasserwirtschaft 2 PL Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development 3 PT GPPAA DGDR 2 RO Ministry of Agriculture 1 SI Ministry of Agriculture 2 SK Ministry of Agriculture 3 FI Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry 3 SE Ministry of Agriculture 2 UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 1 5