Nowe warunki udzielania wsparcia finansowego grupom producentów rolnych w ramach Wspólnej Polityki Rolnej

Abstract

Group of agricultural producers in the EU legislation is the preferred form of running an agricultural activity. The European Union in order to encourage individual farmers to cooperate within a group of agricultural producers introduced a number of incentive instruments, including a system of direct financial assistance to the group. Financial support from the European Union financial resources groups of agricultural producers receive from May 01st, 2004. Currently, the procedure and conditions for financial assistance granted to groups under the Common Agricultural Policy for the years 2014-2020 were largely modified. The above mentioned changes become effective from August 19th, 2016 and are strictly connected with the entry into force of the Regulation of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development dated August 02nd, 2016 On Detailed Conditions and Procedure for Granting Payment and Reimbursement of Financial Aid under the Action: „Setting up Producer Groups and Producer Organizations”. Under the new rules, financial assistance from the European Union may only receive a group of agricultural producers consisting solely of individuals. The legislator therefore limits the number of potential beneficiaries of aid excluding legal persons and organizational units without legal personality and with legal capacity. Moreover, financial aid would not be granted to a group of agricultural producers which had already received financial assistance from the EU budget funds. In addition, the legislator in the new Regulation introduced a number of criteria on which basis depends the order of granting financial aid. The analysis of the above criteria leads to the conclusion that the financial assistance is directed to the agricultural producer groups operating in the form of a cooperative, including at least 10 members, at the area with high agrarian fragmentation.