A public consultation on a review of rules on exemptions for small amounts of aid, or de minimis aid, in agriculture is currently being held by the European Commission.

Current de minimis rules for the agriculture sector allow exemptions from State aid control for small aid amounts as they are deemed to have no impact on competition and trade in the single market.

Announcing the consultation, the Department of Agriculture said maximum cumulative amounts of de minimis aid per member state have to be respected.

Inflation adjustment

The Commission is now revising the agricultural de minimis regulation to react to increasing inflationary pressure in the sector.

It is proposing to adjust the de minimis threshold to inflation and to also increase the national caps.

It also proposes to improve transparency by introducing a mandatory de minimis register, which will reduce administrative burden on farmers who currently use a self-declaration system.

All EU citizens, organisations and public authorities are welcome to contribute to the consultation, which can be done so here before 21 July 2024.