The institutional framework for the management, monitoring and implementation of Sub-measure 3.1 ‘Support for new participations in quality schemes’ has been established, under Measure 3 ‘Quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs’ of the Rural Development Programme (RDP) 2014-2020.
The sub-measure applies to the entire Greek territory and can conditionally finance certification costs in quality schemes in the viticulture and winemaking sector.
- Support shall be granted to farmers or groups of farmers participating in the quality schemes set out in Article 2 of Joint Ministerial Decision 2259/16-3-2018 (Government Gazette, Series II, No 1032), in the case of ‘new participations’.
- In other words, it covers participation, as described in Article 16(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013, as applicable, in the following quality schemes:
- Products registered in the wine sector in accordance with EU designations of origin and geographical indications.
- Organic products that meet the conditions of Regulation (EC) No 834/2007, as in force.
- Poultrymeat and hen eggs, in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 543/2008 and Regulation (EC) 589/2008.
- In other words, it covers participation, as described in Article 16(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013, as applicable, in the following quality schemes:
- Eligible quality schemes
- Organic production (BP). For the purposes of this sub-measure, the three types of organic production activity (hereinafter referred to as ‘certification types’) shall be considered as distinct:
- Plant production
- Animal production
- Manufacturing.
- PDO wines
- PGI wines. Protected designations of origin and protected geographical indications in the wine sector (PDO/PGI wines. For the purposes of this sub-measure, the two categories of certification of PDO/PGI wines (hereinafter referred to as ‘types of certification’) are considered to be distinct:
- Organic production (BP). For the purposes of this sub-measure, the three types of organic production activity (hereinafter referred to as ‘certification types’) shall be considered as distinct:
· For the quality schemes for organic , production, ‘participation in the quality scheme’ means the existence of a contract in force for the producer with a recognised , GLP, while for the PDO/PGI wine scheme, ‘participation in the quality scheme’ means the entry of the producer in the Register of Approved Enterprises referred to in Article 7 of Joint Ministerial Decision 5833/155045/12-12-2013 (Government Gazette, Series II, No 3324), as amended.
4. Aid to a beneficiary for participation in more than one quality scheme/certification type for the same or different industries is allowed
For the purposes of the application of the sub-measure, ‘new participations’ in the quality schemes shall also include participations started in the five previous years prior to the application for support.
The starting date of a producer's participation in a quality scheme constitutes the producer's "initial participation" and is determined per quality scheme and type of certification, as follows:
a) In the organic production system, the initial participation is defined as the date of signature of the producer's contract with the ECA for the inclusion of the producer ("entrepreneur") in the organic production control system with regard to the selected
type of certification.
b) In the quality system of PDO/PGI wines, the initial participation for the selected type of certification is defined as the date of issue of the producer's first Wine Certificate for that type of certification.
In order to check the initial participation per quality system/type of certification, the following are taken:
a) For the organic production system, the data kept in the Register of Organic Farmers referred to in Article 4 of Ministerial Decision 2289/161795/19-12-2014 (Government Gazette, Series II, No 3464), as amended and in force.
b) For the quality system of PDO/PGI wines, the data kept in the Register of Approved Enterprises, in combination with the wine certification statistics kept by the relevant DAOKs, in accordance with Articles 7, 13(7) and 22(1) of Joint Ministerial Decision 5833/155045/12-12-2013 (Government Gazette, Series II, No 3324), as amended.
A new participation of a producer who had previously participated in the same quality scheme/type of certification and the participation was discontinued (certification contract expired or terminated or, in the case of PDO/PGI wines, deleted from the relevant register) after the adoption of this Decision is not eligible under the sub-measure.
Support for the sub-measure shall be provided for annual periods/‘years of implementation’.
The minimum duration of stay in the sub-measure is one (1) year of implementation and the maximum duration of support is five years, i.e. for five years of implementation of the sub-measure or until the date of completion of five (5) years from the initial participation of the beneficiary in the quality system/type of certification, if this is earlier.
In the case of initial participation of the beneficiary prior to the application for support, the maximum duration of five years shall be reduced by the number of years that have elapsed between the initial participation in the quality system and the date of submission of the application for support, provided that at the time of submission of the application for support there is a period of at least one (1) year of implementation until the completion of five (5) years from the
initial participation of the beneficiary in the quality scheme/type of certification.
The first year of implementation shall start on the starting date of the period for the submission of applications for support and end on the date of completion of one calendar year from that date. Each subsequent year of implementation starts and ends on the same dates as the following years.
For all eligible quality schemes beneficiaries may be active farmers, natural or legal persons, who submit annually a Single Payment Application (SPA).
In addition to the types of certification of organic plant and animal production, for the other eligible quality schemes/certification types , beneficiaries may also be groups of farmers,
They may not be beneficiaries of:
a) Those who have joined the Early Retirement Scheme, as well as their spouses.
Successors in early retirement who have been the subject of a decision excluding them from receiving any aid from the agricultural sector for ten years, provided that their exclusion period has not elapsed during the period of submission of the application for support.
c) For the quality system of organic production, those who have been included in sub-measure 11.2 of the RDP 2014-2020 for the same type of certification, regardless of whether they meet the condition of new participation.
d) Farmers who were supported for the same type of organic certification by Measure 132 of the RDP 2007-2013 and completed their commitments, regardless of industry.
e) Farmers for whom a financial correction decision has been issued for infringements of the obligations arising from the inclusion of their operation in Measure 132 of the RDP 2007-2013 and the relevant reimbursement of the amount is pending.
Specific conditions for support for organic production
1. Farmers with a selected type of certification for organic crop or animal production undertake to include in the organic production system one or more production sectors belonging to their holding, as declared annually to their CFC.
2. The type of certification of organic processing of a farmer may be strengthened by the sub-measure if the beneficiary is certified for the production of both the primary and the processed product, irrespective of whether the processing activity takes place within the beneficiary’s holding or through a subcontractor. The primary industry must be included in the beneficiary's holding as declared annually to its CFC, however the primary production activity does not need to be strengthened for the sub-measure.
3. Activities whose output is included in the agricultural products listed in Annex I to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), such as these, shall be eligible for support from the certification costs sub-measure.
may be specified in the Call for Expressions of Interest.
Specific conditions for support for PDO/PGI wines
- The types of certification of a farmer’s PDO/PGI wines may be supported by the sub-measure if the beneficiary’s holding, as declared annually to the ESA, includes the primary industry, regardless of whether the processing activity takes place within the beneficiary’s holding or through a subcontractor.
2. Under this sub-measure, the certification of varietal wine is not strengthened.
Beneficiary commitments
The beneficiaries throughout the implementation of the operation are the following:
a) have a valid certification contract with a recognised certification body for the integrated quality system/type of certification and, especially for PDO/PGI wines, remain registered in the Register of Approved Operators. Any interruption of participation in the quality system during the implementation of the operation shall be reinstated
within no more than three months.
(b) Farmers must maintain the status of active farmer for each year of participation in the sub-measure and submit a Single Payment Application (SPA) per year.
Groups of farmers must maintain the conditions for their recognition and/or entry in the corresponding register.
The holding must not be financed directly or indirectly from two different national or Union sources for the same expenditure. For this reason, the following are not supported by this sub-measure:
i. beneficiaries included in actions 11.2 of Measure 11 for the same type of certification;
groups of farmers with an approved operational plan under Regulation (EU) 1308/2013 including a similar quality product certification action for the same
type of certification,
farmers who are members of groups of farmers with an approved operational plan that includes a similar quality product certification action and who benefit as members from that action for the same type of certification.
If it is found that the beneficiary is subject to financing of its eligible costs from another source, at any time during the implementation of its operation, this finding constitutes non-compliance with the conditions for granting the aid and the penalties provided for are applied.
Eligible costs – Amount of aid
- · The eligible costs are the fixed costs, i.e. the costs incurred for the introduction of a supported quality scheme and the annual contribution to that scheme, including, where appropriate, the costs for the checks required to verify compliance with the scheme's specifications.
2. The annual aid shall be paid to the beneficiary, in accordance with Article 3(2) of Joint Ministerial Decision No 2259/16.3.2018 (Government Gazette, Series II, No 1032), i.e.
The aid is granted on the basis of eligible costs and on presentation of the necessary evidence to carry them out (physical and financial object).
A maximum annual amount of aid shall apply to each quality scheme per holding, as laid down in Table 1 of Article 5 of Joint Ministerial Decision No 2259/16.3.2018 (Government Gazette, Series II, No 1032).
For beneficiaries receiving aid for more than one type of certification or quality schemes for the same or different industries, the annual aid amount shall be calculated as the sum of the individual amounts, but may not exceed
maximum aid amount of €3 000 per farm
Eligible costs per quality system:
a) Organic production
(aa) The maximum amount of aid per type of certification in the quality system for organic production shall be EUR 1 000/holding/year for each type of certification and up to EUR 2 020/holding/year in total for all types of certification for organic production.
bb) Eligible costs are costs related to certification services, excluding any other costs (e.g. interest, issuance of certificates, modification of contract, provision of copies, etc.), based on the documents of the cooperating ECA that submits
the beneficiary. For the types of certification of organic plant and animal production, the eligible costs shall be determined taking into account the costs of the document corresponding to the area or number of animals of the approved activities, as included in the producer’s finalised CFC associated with the year of implementation and certified by the GLP for their compliance. As regards the type of certification of organic processing, the costs of the document relating to the certification of the processing activity and its products shall be eligible for aid.
Protected designations of origin and protected geographical indications in the wine sector (PDO/PGI wines).
(aa) The eligible costs are the costs related to the certification of PDO/PGI wines up to €1 300/holding/year, and include:
- The fee paid annually for the implementation of the procedure for the certification of PDO and/or PGI wines by the competent DAOKs of the Regional Units, on the basis of the provisions in force (Joint Ministerial Decision 5833/155045/12-12-2013, as amended).
- The cost for the supply of control strips for PDO products, up to €1 000/year, corresponding to the total quantity of PDO wine of the wine certificates submitted with the payment application in question.
The cost of laboratory analyses for a number of samples other than those included in the fees paid is not eligible under the sub-measure.
Certification costs paid for reclassification of wine are not eligible.
For each year of implementation, the fixed costs that relate precisely to the period of the year of implementation are eligible on the basis of documentary costs. The costs of supporting documents relating to the provision of long-term services (certification costs for KP quality schemes are allocated on the basis of a time ratio (calendar days) in order to match them with the year of implementation.
7. Value added tax is not eligible.
In order to submit applications for support, a Call for Expression of Interest is issued.
to submit applications for support in order for interested parties to be included in sub-measure 3.1.
Applicants wishing to join the sub-measure must submit an electronic application for support through the State Aid Information System (PSKE). If it is successfully submitted, they receive a unique code and a finalization date, from which the deadline for electronic submission is presumed. The correct registration and submission of the application for support, the completeness of the electronic file and the
Its timely finalisation is the sole responsibility of the applicant.
After electronic submission, potential beneficiaries must, within a deadline specified in the Call for Expressions of Interest, submit to the competent DAOK a file of the application for support, with the required supporting documents, as defined in the relevant Call.
One application for support per applicant shall be submitted to the DAOK of the Regional Unit where the part of the holding linked to the sub-measure is located.
Source: · Decision 8187/2019 , (Government Gazette, Series II, No 4721, 12.12.2019) laying down detailed rules for the implementation of sub-measure 3.1 ‘Support for new participations in quality schemes’, under Measure 3 ‘Quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs’ of the Rural Development Programme (RDP) 2014-2020.
