The European Commission has adopted revised rules for state aid in the agriculture, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture sectors. The revised rules align state aid with the EU's strategic priorities, in particular:

• the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)
• the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP)
• and the European Green Agreement

The Commission has also decided to extend for one year the so-called de minimis regulation for the fishing sector.

The new state aid rules included in the package adopted are:

The revised the Block Exemption Regulation in the agricultural sector (BER) and the a block exemption regulation in the fisheries sector (FIBER) which define specific categories of aid compatible with EU rules on state aid and the EU rules on State aid andexempt them from the obligation of prior notification to the Commission and approval by it, if they meet certain conditions. In this way it is provided the possibility for Member States to grant aid quickly. Required to the conditions limiting the distortion of competition are fulfilled in the single market. The rules laid down in the KAKG and the FIBER is complementary to those which set out in the guidelines applicable to the agriculture, forestry and fisheries sectors, which determine the conditions under which the The Commission shall assess whether the State aid measures that are not exempted by category are compatible with the single market.

• The new guidelines onState aid in agriculture, forestry and rural areas (agricultural guidelines) and the new Guidelines for State aid in the fisheries and aquaculture sector (Fisheries Guidelines), which reflect the Commission's recent experience, as well as current EU strategic priorities, in particular:
  • the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP),
  • the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFF) and the European Green Deal,
  • as well as the Farm to Plate Strategy and the Biodiversity Strategy

Start of implementation

The revised CSFs and FIBER, as well as the agricultural guidelines, will start to be implemented.shall apply from 1 January 2023. The Fisheries Guidelines will be implemented as soon as all language versions are available. In the meantime, the 2015 Guidelines continue to be valid, as amended in 2018.

The Commission also decided to extend until 31 December 2023 the de minimis regulation ( en minimis ) in the fisheries sector (Regulation (EU) No. 717/2014), which is currently in force until 31 December 2022. After requests from stakeholders and several Member States during the consultation procedures, this extension shall be enable at Commission To complete the review process, including its ongoing reflection on the whether the processing and marketing of fisheries and aquaculture products should no longer be included in the de minimis Regulation in the fisheries sector and should rather fall under the de minimis Regulation. This Regulation provides for higher ceilings than those laid down in the Regulation for fisheries.

The marketing and processing of agricultural products are already covered by the general de minimis Regulation. The de minimis regulations exempt small amounts of aid from the scope of State aid control. This is because they are considered not to affect competition and trade in the single market. Accordingly, de minimis aid may be granted without prior notification to and approval by the Commission. A final amendment to the de minimis Regulation for fisheries aid will be adopted during the course of next year.

The revised rules

The main changes to the CCS and FIBER Regulations include a significant extension of the scope of the exempted measures by category. Specifically:

• New categories of measures exempted by category. For example, aid to prevent or compensate for damage caused by protected animals, aid in favour of environmental management commitments and aid for cooperation in the agriculture and forestry sectors or aid to prevent or compensate for damage caused by adverse climatic events in the fisheries and aquaculture sectors
• Individualised block exemption measures for local development projects initiated by local communities to promote the development of rural areas at local level
• A new ceiling for European Innovation Partnership Operational Group projects targeting innovations in the agricultural sector and rural areas. Projects under EUR 500 000 or up to EUR 2 million are not eligible. per company are now exempted by category

Based on the Commission's experience, the new rules exempt up to 50% of cases that were previously subject to notification.

The revised agricultural guidelines introduce the following key changes:

• A new, simplified procedure for approving state aid for measures co-financed under the CAP
• Extended scope of measures targeting animal diseases and organisms harmful to plants. This allows aid to be granted for emerging animal diseases and certain invasive alien species
• New incentives for farmers to commit to schemes under which they meet stricter environmental standards than those required by law

The revised fishing guidelines introduce the following key changes:

• Wider scope of measures targeting animal diseases in the aquaculture sector. This allows aid to be granted for emerging animal diseases and certain invasive alien species
• Introduction of new categories of aid. For example, aid relating to the fleet and closure measures (according to the ETHAS). Also aid for investment in equipment that contributes to the safety of fishing vessels in the outermost regions of the Union. At the same time, it should be noted that it is unlikely that capacity enhancement measures will be adopted.