The direct payments architecture as from 2023

Implementation of the CAP from 2023 in Austria

Minimum requirements

In Austria, the minimum requirement for receiving direct payments is a minimum farm size of 1.5 hectares or a minimum amount of 150 euros in direct payments if beneficiaries only receive coupled payments.

Definitions

The detailed Austrian definitions can be found in Chapter 4 of the published CAP Strategic Plan and in § 3 of the CAP Strategic Plan Application Ordinance (“GAP-Strategieplan-Anwendungs-Verordnung”).

Active farmer

As a principle, applicants have to meet the definition of an “active farmer” to be eligible for area-based and animal-based interventions of the first and the second pillar: Active farmers include

• natural persons subject to compulsory insurance according to the Austrian Law on Social Insurance for Farmers (“Bauern-Sozialversicherungsgesetz - BSVG”, Federal Law Gazette No 559/1978),
• legal entities and partnerships having an agricultural unit value determined according to the Austrian Valuation Law (“Bewertungsgesetz”, Federal Law Gazette No 148/1955),
• beneficiaries who can furnish proof of their capacity as “active farmer” by means of their tax declaration or equivalent documents,
• beneficiaries who received direct payments of no more than 5,000 euros for the preceding year of application.

Direct payment interventions

Around 678 million euros are earmarked annually for direct payments in Austria and are financed exclusively from EU funds. The distribution of the funds to the nine interventions can be seen in the figure “Anteile an Direktzahlungs-Obergrenze” (Shares in direct payment ceilings).

The “new green architecture" of the CAP can be found in particular in the "enhanced conditionality" and the "eco-schemes" of the 1st pillar. The redistributive payment can provide additional support for the income of small family farms. As part of the Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS), for the first time also satellite-based information is used for area monitoring.