Last updated: 16 March 2017
Conditions for eligibility and access of farmers to financial aids in agriculture granted under the Common Agricultural Policy are more relaxed following the amendment of Government Emergency Ordinance no. 3/2015 for the approval of payment schemes in agriculture for 2015-2020, as well as Order no. 619/2015 for the approval of eligibility criteria, specific conditions and implementing methods of these schemes.
FOUR MAIN CHANGES
1. The most important change is the reduction of the minimum lot surface for payments requested for vegetable crops grown in greenhouses and solariums; this surface was reduced from 0.1 hectares to 0.03 hectares. According to the law, this reduction is intended to increase the number of beneficiaries by 50%.
2. The documentation to be submitted in support of the payment application has also been simplified. For example, from now on, ownership documents to be submitted may also be a final court ruling or a sale contract etc.
3. In certain cases, in order to access funds, farmers must prove that the land in question is at their disposal. Previously, they had to prove that they were legally using these lands.
4. Farmers must submit “verifiable evidence” regarding the total income they obtain from agricultural activities. Government Emergency Ordinance no. 3/2015 currently provides that, in order to do so, farmers may submit “documents which show the total income they obtain, as well as their income resulting from agricultural and non-agricultural activities”; thus, there is more flexibility as regards this evidence. Previously, for farmers – legal entities, “verifiable evidence” included especially the annual accounts and the accounting reports.
TO BE NOTED
Despite the legislator’s intention to simplify and relax the procedure, there are some inconsistencies between the various regulations mentioned in this article, which could be problematic for farmers. Therefore, practice will indicate whether the legislator achieved his goal or not…