Explanatory Memorandum to COM(2013)695 - 6th financial report on the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD), 2012 financial year

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dossier COM(2013)695 - 6th financial report on the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD), 2012 financial year.
source COM(2013)695 EN
date 10-10-2013
52013DC0695

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL 6th FINANCIAL REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the EUROPEAN AGRICULTURAL FUND FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT (EAFRD) 2012 FINANCIAL YEAR /* COM/2013/0695 final */


Contents

1.

TABLE OF CONTENTS


2.

1........... Budget procedure........................................................................................................... 3


3.

1.1........ Draft Budget (DB) 2012................................................................................................. 3


4.

1.2........ The adoption of the 2012 Budget.................................................................................... 3


5.

1.3........ The adoption of the Amending Budget............................................................................. 4


6.

2........... Management of appropriations........................................................................................ 4


7.

2.1........ Management of Commitment appropriations.................................................................... 4


8.

2.1.1..... EAFRD operational programmes.................................................................................... 4


9.

2.1.2..... Technical assistance........................................................................................................ 5


10.

2.2........ Management of payment appropriations.......................................................................... 5


11.

2.2.1..... EAFRD operational programmes.................................................................................... 5


12.

2.2.2..... Technical assistance........................................................................................................ 6


13.

3........... Implementation of the 2012 EAFRD budget.................................................................... 6


14.

3.1........ Introduction.................................................................................................................... 6


15.

3.2........ Implementation of commitment appropriations................................................................. 6


16.

3.2.1..... EAFRD operational programmes.................................................................................... 6


17.

3.2.2..... Technical assistance........................................................................................................ 7


18.

3.3........ Implementation of payment appropriations....................................................................... 8


19.

3.3.1..... EAFRD operational programmes.................................................................................... 8


20.

3.3.2..... Technical assistance...................................................................................................... 12


21.

3.4........ Analysis of expenditure declared by axis and by measure............................................... 12


22.

3.5........ Implementation of EAFRD programmes........................................................................ 14


REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL

23.

6th FINANCIAL REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the EUROPEAN AGRICULTURAL FUND FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT (EAFRD) 2012 FINANCIAL YEAR


24.

1. Budget procedure


25.

1.1. Draft Budget 2012


The 2012 Draft Budget was adopted by the Commission and proposed to the Budgetary Authority on 20 April 2011.

The Draft Budget for the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) under heading 2 of the Financial Framework 2007-2013 totalled EUR 14 612 million in commitment appropriations and EUR 12 658 million in payment appropriations.

26.

Table 1


Budget Item| Commitment appropriations (in €)| Payment appropriations (in €)

05.040501 (Rural dev. programmes)| 14 589 123 12 650 000 000

05.040502 (Technical assistance)| 22 521 7 910 000

The Council adopted its position on the 2012 Draft Budget on 25 July 2011. Payment appropriations were reduced by EUR 140 million for EAFRD programmes and by EUR 3 million for technical assistance as compared to the Commission's Draft Budget while commitments remained unchanged. The European Parliament adopted its position on 26 October 2011 whereby it restored the Commission's proposal by increasing the total amount of payment appropriations by EUR 143 million. The Conciliation procedure resulted in an agreement between the two institutions.

27.

1.2. The adoption of the 2012 Budget


The Draft Budget was approved by the Parliament in a vote on 19 November 2011. The voted budget for the EAFRD in chapter 05 04 amounted to EUR 14 612 million in commitment appropriations and EUR 12 002 million in payment appropriations.

28.

Table 2


Budget Item| Commitment appropriations (in €)| Payment appropriations (in €)

05.040501 (Rural dev. programmes)| 14 589 123 11 994 891 297

05.040502 (Technical assistance)| 22 521 7 500 363

29.

1.3. The adoption of the Amending Budget


In October 2012 the Commission adopted the Draft Amending Budget No 6 to the 2012 budget due to a clearly identified lack of available payment appropriations. Therefore additional funding of EUR 1 041 million was requested for rural development programmes. The budgetary authority approved the Amending Budget No. 6 on 12 December 2012 for the total amount requested for EAFRD 2007-2013 programmes. As a result, the total amount of payment appropriations approved by the budget authority for 2012 was EUR 13 043 million.

30.

2. Management of appropriations


31.

2.1. Management of Commitment appropriations


32.

2.1.1. EAFRD operational programmes


In 2012 the available commitment appropriations for EAFRD programmes amounted in total to EUR 14 589 million. This amount was entirely committed during the year.

33.

Table 3


Management of commitment appropriations in 2012 – EAFRD| Budget Item 05.040501 (amounts in €)

34.

Appropriations at the beginning of 14 589 123 242


Carryover from -

Appropriations available in 14 589 123 242

Appropriations used in 14 589 123 242

35.

2.1.2. Technical assistance


Article 69(2) of Council regulation (EC) No 1698/2005 stipulates that 0.25% of the resources for Community support to rural development shall be devoted to technical assistance for the Commission. In the 2012 budget, the initial amount available for this purpose was EUR 22.5 million. Of this, EUR 13 million were redeployed to other items of the budget. At the end of 2012, the total amount committed was EUR 8.4 million.

36.

2.2. Management of payment appropriations


37.

2.2.1. EAFRD operational programmes


In 2012 the payment appropriations of the voted budget amounted to EUR 11 995 million. In addition, EUR 30.5 million in relation to recoveries were automatically carried over from 2011 and EUR 50.2 million of assigned revenue (recoveries) were collected . The last declaration of expenditure submitted by Member States in November 2012 confirmed an additional need of EUR 1 041 million in payment appropriations . This amount was made available with the Amending Budget No.6.

The total amount paid to Member States for EAFRD programmes in 2012 reached EUR 13 117 million, thus ensuring the full consumption of the payment credits available in the year.

38.

Table 4


Management of payment appropriations in 2012 – EAFRD| Budget Item 05.040501 (amounts in €)

39.

Appropriations at the beginning of 11 994 891 297


Carryover from 30 544 548

Amending budget No. 1 041 000 000

Recoveries (assigned revenue)| 50 156 378

40.

Appropriations available in 13 116 592 223


Appropriations used in 13 116 592 223

41.

2.2.2. Technical assistance


In the 2012 budget, the amount of payment appropriations was EUR 7.5 million. At the end of the year, the total amount of payments was EUR 5.1 million, leaving EUR 2.4 million unused. The unused funds mainly relate to the network facility of the European Innovation Partnership, which is being implemented in 2013.

42.

3. Implementation of the 2012 EAFRD budget


43.

3.1. Introduction


Financial year 2012 represented a consolidation period for all rural development programmes though there is a substantial variability as regards the implementation levels of programmes. For some of them the implementation difficulties remanined apparently because of the continued impact of the economic and financial crisis. Nonetheless, it has to be noted that 2012 has shown the highest execution so far for the rural development programmes in this programming period.

44.

3.2. Implementation of commitment appropriations


45.

3.2.1. EAFRD operational programmes


Table 5 shows the amounts committed per Member State in 2012 and the allocation established by Commission decision 2006/636/EC (modification of April 2010 still in force in 2012).

In 2012, the commitment appropriations available for EAFRD programmes, EUR 14 589 million, coincide with the annual allocation as there was no carryover from the previous year. All the available appropriations were committed (EUR 14 589 million).

46.

Table 5


Commission Decision 2006/636/EC (version in force) vs. the amounts committed end of 2012:

Budget item: 05.|| (in €)

MS| Commission Decision 2006/636/EC – EU funds Amounts carried over for commitment in Amounts committed in the budget year 2012

|| (a)| (b)| (c=a+b)

AT| 545 968 -| 545 968 629

BE| 75 495 -| 75 495 480

BG| 397 696 -| 397 696 922

CY| 21 783 -| 21 783 947

CZ| 412 672 -| 412 672 094

DE| 1 398 361 -| 1 398 361 509

DK| 98 797 -| 98 797 618

EE| 108 913 -| 108 913 401

ES| 1 255 978 -| 1 255 978 191

FI| 294 408 -| 294 408 238

FR| 1 223 917 -| 1 223 917 557

GR| 669 030 -| 669 030 398

HU| 563 304 -| 563 304 619

IE| 352 271 -| 352 271 063

IT| 1 422 949 -| 1 422 949 382

LT| 250 278 -| 250 278 098

LU| 13 281 -| 13 281 368

LV| 150 188 -| 150 188 774

MT| 10 459 -| 10 459 190

NL| 96 082 -| 96 082 449

PL| 1 857 244 -| 1 857 244 519

PT| 586 692 -| 586 692 105

RO| 1 359 146 -| 1 359 146 997

SE| 277 860 -| 277 860 755

SI| 118 858 -| 118 858 866

SK| 275 025 -| 275 025 447

UK| 752 455 -| 752 455 626

Total| 14 589 123 -| 14 589 123 242

47.

3.2.2. Technical assistance


Table 6 shows the commitment appropriations for technical assistance consumed in 2012. The most important part relates to European Network for Rural Development.

48.

Table 6


Technical assistance – Implementation of commitment appropriations

Budget Item: 05.| (in €)

Description| Amount committed

Contact point of the European Network for rural Development (ENRD)| 3 653 202

Expert groups / Coordination committee / Seminars (ENRD)| 733 091

Information technology| 484 256

Studies, evaluations and controls| 336 912

European innovation partnership (EIP)| 2 500 000

Experts committee on the evaluation of rural development programmes| 200 000

Publications| 448 990

Total| 8 356 451

49.

3.3. Implementation of payment appropriations


50.

3.3.1. EAFRD operational programmes


All the payments appropriations made available in the voted and in the amending budget 2012, increased with a carryover and assigned revenue from recoveries by respectively EUR 30.5 million and EUR 50.2 million, were used. Therefore at the end of 2012, the total amount paid for EAFRD programmes was EUR 13 117 million. Payments made in 2012 increased more than 11% compared to 2011.

The table below shows the breakdown of payments made in 2012 by declaration period :

51.

Table 7


Payments 2012 – EAFRD operational programmes million €

Reimbursement of payment claims Q2 0.24

Reimbursement of payment claims Q3 21.27

Reimbursement of payment claims Q4 4 791.64

Reimbursement of payment claims Q1 2 678.68

Reimbursement of payment claims Q2 2 290.40

Reimbursement of payment claims Q3 3 334.37

Total 13 116.59

The reimbursement of 3rd quarter 2012 for 85 EAFRD programmes was totally or partially on hold at the end of the year mainly due to lack of available payment appropriations for 2012 (84 programmes), while in one case the outstanding commitment appropriations for the programme were already fully exhausted by the payment of previous claims. These payments had to wait until the annual commitments for 2013 were made. The total amount of the delayed reimbursements was EUR 102 770 720.

The monthly consumption of payment appropriations during the year (January to December 2012) is represented in the graph below. The rhythm of consumption is linked to the calendar for sending the four payment declarations (31 January, 30 April, 31 July and 10 November for the payment claims corresponding respectively to Q4 2011, Q1 2012, Q2 2012 and Q3 2012) in accordance to article 16(2) of Regulation (EC) No 883/2006.

The graph shows that the usual rhythm of monthly payments was influenced by the lack of cash available to make effective payments. It imposed a delay on some reimbursements in the first part of 2012 (January to April) and at the end of the year.

52.

Graph 1


The breakdown per Member State and per declaration period of the amounts paid by the Commission in budget year 2012 is shown in table 8. The amounts in columns Q2 2011 and Q3 2011 relate to the EAFRD programmes that exhausted their commitment appropriations for 2011 and had to wait until 2012 to have their amounts reimbursed with the 2012 commitment appropriations.

53.

Table 8


Payments effectively made between 01/01/2012 and 31/12/2012 per declaration of expenditure|| (in €)

MS| Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Grand Total

AT||| 339 835 139 697 31 933 24 465 535 931 653

BE| 238 14 772 11 497 12 178 26 270 3 539 68 498 081

BG||| 210 676 15 967 31 326 48 822 306 792 409

CY||| 5 200 7 073 4 091 3 492 19 857 677

CZ||| 133 105 171 801 72 562 41 516 418 986 335

DE|| 1 870 556 278 202 150 111 758 438 968 1 311 026 530

DK||| 21 975 13 263 11 468 15 933 62 641 099

EE||| 24 066 63 537 21 450 20 189 129 243 153

ES||| 317 102 176 116 174 349 153 550 821 119 814

FI||| 80 176 19 803 21 646 180 696 302 322 832

FR||| 380 108 133 274 95 288 324 499 933 171 846

GR||| 31 953 33 894 90 847 174 118 330 814 548

HU||| 120 237 155 121 85 933 80 089 441 382 786

IE|| 3 625 120 969 47 070 30 903 123 113 325 682 973

IT||| 637 934 175 523 207 667 286 707 1 307 832 848

LT||| 93 784 42 016 45 213 54 252 235 267 314

LU|| 1 000 3 086 4 951 779 544 10 362 740

LV||| 68 803 61 997 36 064 46 363 213 228 656

MT||| 3 334 1 793 2 072 1 742 8 942 564

NL||| 28 774 15 583 31 663 26 269 102 291 084

PL||| 534 909 594 250 465 694 432 184 2 027 038 643

PT||| 194 440 83 985 160 262 240 591 679 279 269

RO||| 461 201 203 648 214 138 222 931 1 101 919 904

SE||| 75 751 42 729 31 580 143 133 293 194 504

SI||| 37 311 25 154 43 676 15 923 122 065 747

SK||| 110 295 30 906 74 518 57 222 272 943 075

UK||| 188 825 205 179 167 239 173 509 734 754 138

Total| 238 21 269 4 791 636 2 678 675 2 290 401 3 334 371 13 116 592 223

The total amount paid in 2012 EUR 13 117 million relates to reimbursements only. No advances were paid in 2012.

Table 9 on the next page compares, for each Member State, the EAFRD payments made in 2012 with the payments in 2011. The total payments increased by 11.2% (EUR 13.12 billion vs. 11.79 billion).

54.

Table 9


Payments made to Member States - Comparison 2012 vs|| (in €)|

MS| Difference 2012 vs. 2011

Interim payments| Prefinancing| Total| Interim payments| Prefinancing| Total| (in €)| (in %)

AT| 560 505 -| 560 505 535 931 -| 535 931 -24 573 -4,4%

BE| 74 909 -| 74 909 68 498 -| 68 498 -6 411 -8,6%

BG| 123 262 -| 123 262 306 792 -| 306 792 183 529 148,9%

CY| 17 962 -| 17 962 19 857 -| 19 857 1 895 10,6%

CZ| 448 149 -| 448 149 418 986 -| 418 986 -29 163 -6,5%

DE| 1 152 971 -| 1 152 971 1 311 026 -| 1 311 026 158 055 13,7%

DK| 49 994 -| 49 994 62 641 -| 62 641 12 646 25,3%

EE| 106 899 -| 106 899 129 243 -| 129 243 22 343 20,9%

ES| 981 011 -| 981 011 821 119 -| 821 119 -159 891 -16,3%

FI| 282 478 -| 282 478 302 322 -| 302 322 19 844 7,0%

FR| 740 672 -| 740 672 933 171 -| 933 171 192 499 26,0%

GR| 414 332 -| 414 332 330 814 -| 330 814 -83 517 -20,2%

HU| 432 685 -| 432 685 441 382 -| 441 382 8 697 2,0%

IE| 348 090 -| 348 090 325 682 -| 325 682 -22 407 -6,4%

IT| 1 103 141 -| 1 103 141 1 307 832 -| 1 307 832 204 691 18,6%

LT| 248 716 -| 248 716 235 267 -| 235 267 -13 448 -5,4%

LU| 13 287 -| 13 287 10 362 -| 10 362 -2 924 -22,0%

LV| 159 845 -| 159 845 213 228 -| 213 228 53 383 33,4%

MT| 7 372 -| 7 372 8 942 -| 8 942 1 570 21,3%

NL| 55 781 -| 55 781 102 291 -| 102 291 46 509 83,4%

PL| 1 753 101 -| 1 753 101 2 027 038 -| 2 027 038 273 936 15,6%

PT| 488 207 -| 488 207 679 279 -| 679 279 191 071 39,1%

RO| 894 923 -| 894 923 1 101 919 -| 1 101 919 206 996 23,1%

SE| 276 259 -| 276 259 293 194 -| 293 194 16 934 6,1%

SI| 111 811 -| 111 811 122 065 -| 122 065 10 253 9,2%

SK| 345 897 -| 345 897 272 943 -| 272 943 -72 954 -21,1%

UK| 601 730 -| 601 730 734 754 -| 734 754 133 023 22,1%

Total| 11 794 000 -| 11 794 000 13 116 592 -| 13 116 592 1 322 591 11,2%

55.

3.3.2. Technical assistance


In the 2012 budget the amount for payment appropriations was EUR 7.5 million. The table hereafter presents the payments for technical assistance for a total amount of EUR 5.1 million. The most important part is related to European Network for Rural Development A significant part of the unsued appropriations concerns the network facility of the European Innovation Partnership for which no payment could be made because the commitments were made late in the year; thus postponing the effective implementation to 2013.

56.

Table 10


Technical assistance – Implementation of payment appropriations

Budget Item: 05.| (in €)

Description| Amount paid

Contact point of the European Network for Rural Development (ENRD)| 3 502 642

Expert groups / Coordination committee / Seminars (ENRD)| 601 045

Information technology| 470 465

Experts committee on the evaluation of rural development programmes| 59 298

Studies, evaluations and controls| 188 300

Publications| 259 964

Total| 5 081 714

57.

3.4. Analysis of expenditure declared by axis and by measure


Table 11 shows the payment claims declared by Member state and by axis/measure for rural development in 2012 (Q4 2011 to Q3 2012), the cumulative declared expenditure from 2007 to 2012 (Q4 2006 to Q3 2012) and also the financial plans of EAFRD programmes (2007-2013; EU27).

In 2012, the expenditure continues to be concentrated in axis 2 (45.6%), followed by axis 1 with 32.3%, axis 3 with 15.3% and axis 4 with 5.4%. This repartition of expenditure still diverges somewhat with the repartition in the financial plans for the 2007-2013 programming period (33.1%, 45.2%, 13.4% and 6.3% for axis 1 to 4 respectively).

Axis 2 measures mainly involve annual payments (e.g. agro-environmental measures) whilst Axis 1, 3 and, to a lesser extent, Axis 4 mainly relate to multi-annual measures that require longer proceedings for their approval and implementation (e.g. investment projects).

The expenditure in 2012 is more balanced among axes and the share of each axis tends to get closer to the share in the financial plans. For instance, Axis 2 decreases from 47.9% in 2011 to 45.6% in 2012 while Axis 1 and 4 increase from 31.7% and 4.3% in 2011 to 32.3% and 5.4% in 2012 respectively.

58.

Table 11


EAFRD declared expenditure 2012 (Q4 2011-Q3 2012) & Total cumulative expenditure (Q4 2006 to Q3 2012)

59.

compared with Financial Plans*


|| Declared expenditure 2012 (Q4 2011 to Q3 2012)| Cumulative declared expenditure (Q4 2006 to Q3 2012)| Financial Plans 2007-2013

EAFRD Axis / Measure| (million €)| (%)| (million €)| (%)| (million €)| (%)

111 Vocational training and information actions| 124,| 0,9%| 261,| 0,7%| 954,| 1,0%

112 Setting up of young farmers| 391,| 3,0%| 1312,| 3,3%| 2 877,| 3,0%

113 Early retirement| 330,| 2,5%| 1371,| 3,5%| 2 510,| 2,6%

114 Use of advisory services| 24,| 0,2%| 38,| 0,1%| 277,| 0,3%

115 Setting up of management, relief and ....| 8,| 0,1%| 10,| 0,0%| 64,| 0,1%

121 Modernisation of agricultural holdings| 1692,| 12,8%| 5040,| 12,7%| 11 582,| 12,0%

122 Improvement of the economic value of forest| 45,| 0,3%| 121,| 0,3%| 514,| 0,5%

123 Adding value to agricultural and forestry...| 764,| 5,8%| 1649,| 4,2%| 5 622,| 5,8%

124 Cooperation for development of new products| 36,| 0,3%| 39,| 0,1%| 325,| 0,3%

125 Infrastructure related to the development …| 557,| 4,2%| 1189,| 3,0%| 4 782,| 5,0%

126 Restoring agricultural production potential| 86,| 0,7%| 184,| 0,5%| 601,| 0,6%

131 Meeting standards based on Community...| 5,| 0,0%| 49,| 0,1%| 70,| 0,1%

132 Participation of farmers in food quality…| 17,| 0,1%| 31,| 0,1%| 150,| 0,2%

133 Information and promotion activities| 19,| 0,1%| 26,| 0,1%| 172,| 0,2%

141 Semi-subsistence farming| 63,| 0,5%| 472,| 1,2%| 883,| 0,9%

142 Producer groups| 37,| 0,3%| 81,| 0,2%| 234,| 0,2%

143 Direct Payment (BG + RO)| 3,| 0,0%| 2,| 0,0%| 15,| 0,0%

144 Holdings undergoing restructuring| 64,| 0,5%| 68,| 0,2%| 197,| 0,2%

Axis 4 274,| 32,3%| 11 952,| 30,2%| 31 835,| 33,1%

211 Natural handicap payments to farmers in ...| 1025,| 7,7%| 4 160,| 10,5%| 6 555,| 6,8%

212 Payments to farmers in areas with handicaps...| 1038,| 7,8%| 4 325,| 10,9%| 7 341,| 7,6%

213 Natura 2000 payments and payments linked ..| 39,| 0,3%| 85,| 0,2%| 633,| 0,7%

214 Agri-environment payments| 3231,| 24,4%| 12 030,| 30,4%| 22 745,| 23,6%

215 Animal welfare payments| 95,| 0,7%| 207,| 0,5%| 716,| 0,7%

216 Non-productive investments| 91,| 0,7%| 124,| 0,3%| 570,| 0,6%

221 First afforestation of agricultural land| 201,| 1,5%| 829,| 2,1%| 2 068,| 2,1%

222 First establishment of agroforestry systems...| 0,| 0,0%| 0,| 0,0%| 11,| 0,0%

223 First afforestation of non-agricultural land| 25,| 0,2%| 65,| 0,2%| 267,| 0,3%

224 Natura 2000 payments| 5,| 0,0%| 11,| 0,0%| 67,| 0,1%

225 Forest-environment payments| 9,| 0,1%| 20,| 0,1%| 193,| 0,2%

226 Restoring forestry potential and …| 204,| 1,5%| 559,| 1,4%| 1 573,| 1,6%

227 Non-productive investments| 74,| 0,6%| 185,| 0,5%| 749,| 0,8%

Axis 6 041,| 45,6%| 22 605,| 57,0%| 43 494,| 45,2%

311 Diversification into non-agricultural activities| 191,| 1,4%| 339,| 0,9%| 1 274,| 1,3%

312 Business creation and development| 258,| 2,0%| 373,| 0,9%| 2 091,| 2,2%

313 Encouragement of tourism activities| 116,| 0,9%| 225,| 0,6%| 1 252,| 1,3%

321 Basic services for the economy and rural …| 629,| 4,8%| 771,| 1,9%| 3 408,| 3,5%

322 Village renewal and development| 647,| 4,9%| 1148,| 2,9%| 3 345,| 3,5%

323 Conservation and upgrading of the rural....| 159,| 1,2%| 339,| 0,9%| 1 253,| 1,3%

331 Training and information| 13,| 0,1%| 29,| 0,1%| 113,| 0,1%

341 Skills acquisition, animation and implement...| 12,| 0,1%| 51,| 0,1%| 129,| 0,1%

Axis 2 028,| 15,3%| 3 279,| 8,3%| 12 868,| 13,4%

411 Implementing local development strategies...| 30,| 0,2%| 53,| 0,1%| 553,| 0,6%

412 Implementing local development strategies...| 5,| 0,0%| 5,| 0,0%| 165,| 0,2%

413 Implementing local development strategies....| 530,| 4,0%| 552,| 1,4%| 4065,| 4,2%

421 Implementing cooperation projects| 15,| 0,1%| 12,| 0,0%| 267,| 0,3%

431 Running the local action group, acquiring ...| 132,| 1,0%| 265,| 0,7%| 1002,| 1,0%

Axis 713,| 5,4%| 889,| 2,2%| 6 053,| 6,3%

511 Technical Assistance| 179,| 1,4%| 463,| 1,2%| 1537,| 1,6%

611 BG RO Direct Payments| -0,| 0,0%| 437,| 1,1%| 459,| 0,5%

Grand total| 13 236,| 100,0%| 39 627,| 100,0%| 96 248,| 100,0%

*Member States declare their expenditure quarterly. However for year n, Q4 declarations are submitted in January of year n+1. Consequently, the corresponding reimbursements by the Commission to the Member States in year n go from Q4 of year n-1 until Q3 of year n.

60.

3.5 Implementation of EAFRD programmes


Graph 2 on the next page presents the financial implementation rate of rural development programmes per Member State: payments from the beginning of the programming period to 2012, including Q4 2012 that is reimbursed in financial year 2013, compared with the 2007-2012 commitments according to the financial plan. The average EAFRD financial implementation rate for all EAFRD programmes is 78%.

Graph 2 shows that most Member States have absorbed more than 75% of the 2007-2012 commitments.

Until the end of 2012 the application of the N+2 rule has resulted in relatively small decommitments for three rural development programmes. Those decommmitments amount in total to EUR 7.4 million and relate to years 2008 and 2009. Decommitments in relation to year 2010 will be made in 2013.