Direct Payments Regulation 2013

In Title I, Article 4 sets out a series of definitions. In Title II on general provisions, article 9 establishes the ‘active farmer test’. This requires that there is no direct payment to a person who does not carry out minimum agricultural activity, keeping in a state suitable for grazing or cultivation, or operates airports, rail, waterworks, real estate services, or sport or recreation grounds. Article 10 sets minimum thresholds for receiving payments from member states of no less than €100, for farming no less than 1 hectare of land. Under article 10(2) member states can change the limits. Under article 11 there is a reduction of payments (known as degressive payments) so that for entities receiving over €150,000 in subsidies there is a 5% reduction for each hectare.

Title III concerns the basic payment scheme and related payments' operation. Article 32 states payments are on a per hectare basis. Article 33 states farmers must have agricultural land at their disposal to get payments. Article 43 states that environmental- and climate-beneficial payments are to be made for crop diversification, maintaining grassland, and ecological focus area. Article 44 requires that a farmer should cultivate at least two different crops with over 10 hectares, and three if over 30 hectares. Article 45 requires that environmentally sensitive grasslands designated under the Habitats Directive and Wild Birds Directive should not be more than 5% turned into agricultural area. Article 46 states that farmers with over 15 hectares should have at least 5% of their land reserves as an "ecological focus area".

Annex IV, sets limits of member state discretion.

• EU law
• UK enterprise law

• E McGaughey, Principles of Enterprise Law: the Economic Constitution and Human Rights (Cambridge UP 2022) ch 13

• Text of the Direct Payments Regulation