Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/370 of 13 December 2022 supplementing Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to procedures, time limits for submission by Member States of requests for amendments of CAP Strategic Plans, and further cases for which the maximum number of amendments of CAP Strategic Plans does not apply
Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/370of 13 December 2022supplementing Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to procedures, time limits for submission by Member States of requests for amendments of CAP Strategic Plans, and further cases for which the maximum number of amendments of CAP Strategic Plans does not applyTHE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,Having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 2 December 2021 establishing rules on support for strategic plans to be drawn up by Member States under the common agricultural policy (CAP Strategic Plans) and financed by the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) and by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and repealing Regulations (EU) No 1305/2013 and (EU) No 1307/2013OJ L 435, 6.12.2021, p. 1., and in particular Article 122 thereof,Whereas:(1)Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 lays down the basic rules governing the common agricultural policy (CAP) Strategic Plans, including rules on the submission and approval of amendments of CAP Strategic Plans set out in Article 119 of that Regulation.(2)In order to enable Member States to submit requests for amendments of their CAP Strategic Plans, it is necessary to set out the procedures and time limits for submission of the requests for amendment.(3)In order for the Commission to correctly assess the request for amendment of the CAP Strategic Plan, the request should contain, in addition to the information laid down in Article 119(2) of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115, for each change of the CAP Strategic Plan, certain information explaining the reasons for the change and explaining its content and expected effects.(4)To ensure that the request for amendment of the CAP Strategic Plan is complete and is correctly transmitted to the Commission, the Member States should submit it through the electronic data exchange system "SFC2021" referred to in Article 3 of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/2289Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/2289 of 21 December 2021 laying down rules for the application of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the presentation of the content of the CAP Strategic Plans and on the electronic system for the secure exchange of information (OJ L 458, 22.12.2021, p. 463)..(5)In order to ensure a thorough assessment of the request for amendment submitted for approval by the Commission, and in particular of the amended financial plan, and to avoid the risk of errors due to multiple versions of CAP Strategic Plan undergoing a parallel assessment, the Member State should submit through the electronic data exchange system "SFC2021" only one request for amendment at a time. The Member State should only submit a new request for amendment once it has either withdrawn the previous request or once the Commission notified the Member State of its decision over the previously submitted request for amendment. This is necessary in particular to ensure legal certainty for the beneficiaries as regards the applicable version of the CAP Strategic Plan and correct linking of payments and with the newly applicable amended financial plan.(6)It is necessary to lay down detailed rules on notifications to the Commission of the changes pertaining to interventions under Title III, Chapter IV, of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115, referred to in Article 119(9) of that Regulation, and on the notification to the Commission of the outcome of the assessment referred to in Article 120 of that Regulation.(7)It is necessary to lay down time limits for the submission of requests for amendment of CAP Strategic Plans related to types of intervention in certain sectors referred to in Article 42 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 and related to types of interventions referred to in Chapter IV of that Regulation in order to ensure the timely processing and entry into force of amendments of CAP Strategic Plans before the end of the period for eligibility of the expenditure.(8)It is further necessary to lay down a time period for the submission of requests for amendment of the CAP Strategic Plan relating to the transfer of certain financial allocations, in order to ensure a timely entry into force of the financial allocations for direct payments and EAFRD.(9)To ensure efficient processing of requests for amendment of CAP Strategic Plans, Member States should prepare the requests for amendment so as to reduce the number of requests for amendments submitted in each calendar year, for instance by combining multiple changes to the CAP Strategic Plans, in one request for amendment. To ensure legal certainty, protect the rights of farmers and guarantee a smooth and efficient functioning of all interventions, Member States should submit their requests for amendment so as to allow sufficient time for their assessment by the Commission and for their timely entry into effect in accordance with Article 119(8) of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115.(10)To ensure flexibility for Member States in case of emergencies due to natural disasters and catastrophic events and other emergency measures and to address other specific situations, and at the same time, to effectively and timely process the requests for amendment of the CAP Strategic Plan without undue administrative burden, it is necessary to define further cases for which the maximum number of requests for amendment laid down in Article 119(7) of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 does not apply. These cases should include unforeseen changes of the Union legal framework, legal obligations, and where necessary, automatic decommitments, and changes due to exceptional measures against market disturbances, animal diseases and plant pests, as well as modifications of financial instruments which operate under dynamic market environment where regular changes may be necessary for their proper implementation.(11)It is necessary to provide a time limit to submit requests for amendment concerning automatic decommitment, in order to ensure compliance with the time limits laid down in Article 34 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 of the European Parliament and of the CouncilRegulation (EU) 2021/2116 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 2 December 2021 on the financing, management and monitoring of the common agricultural policy and repealing Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 (OJ L 435, 6.12.2021, p. 187). and Article 24 of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/128Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/128 of 21 December 2021 laying down rules for the application of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 of the European Parliament and of the Council on paying agencies and other bodies, financial management, clearance of accounts, checks, securities and transparency (OJ L 20, 31.1.2022, p. 131)..(12)Having regard to Article 104(1), second subparagraph, and Article 106 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 and considering that this Regulation lays down rules on time limits for requests for amendment of CAP Strategic Plans and further cases of requests for amendment of CAP Strategic Plans which do not count in the maximum number of requests for amendment of CAP Strategic Plans, this Regulation should apply as from 1 January 2023, to ensure a level playing field and legal certainty for the Member States, farmers and stakeholders concerned,HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: