Evaluation study of the instruments applicable to State aid in the agricultural and forestry sectors and in rural areas

The objective of this evaluation study is to carry out an assessment of the rules of the agricultural State aid (SA) framework 2014-2020 regarding eight aid measures. They concern aid mitigating risks inherent to the agricultural sector, aid for prevention & restoration of damages to forests and forestry investments and investments in processing agricultural products into non-Annex I products in rural areas. The study examines the choices made by the Member States with regards to State aid clearance and the appropriateness of the rules set forward, their efficiency, effectiveness (in terms of balance of positive effects with the negative effect on competition and trade within the internal market) and coherence. The study finds that for compensatory agricultural risk management measures, State aid responds to needs of the agricultural sector and addresses market failures specific to the different events. The effects of the support go beyond the direct effects on beneficiaries; contributing also to CAP objectives and public health policies. The effects on competition and trade are limited. Aids in the forestry sector and processing of agricultural products into non-Annex I are framed by the rural development regulation (RDR). The limited negative effects are outweighed by the positive effects of the aid in particular on rural development objectives. The rules of the agricultural SA instruments are coherent with other concerned EU policies and overall with the RDR. For forestry measures, the integration into the agricultural block exemption leads to real simplification of SA clearance and reduced administrative burden. For processing of agricultural products into non-Annex I products coherence with RDR needs to be further developed.