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Covid-19 and CHAFEA – How does it affect Agri-food Promotion Programmes?
This pandemic situation we are facing today poses a risk to economic stability and growth for many. The impossibility of crowds of people means that many promotional activities cannot be carried out. What will then happen with Covid-19 and CHAFEA?
Attendance to international fairs, congresses and mass meetings to make contacts, network and promote agri-food products is uncertain this year. For this reason, many bodies and agri-food companies are considering opting for other types of international and national promotion services which can be carried out without danger and which will benefit from this situation by taking advantage of European funds.
This is a time of uncertainty and therefore it is time to move to seek solutions and not wait passively for the collapse. The subsidies of CHAFEA’s agri-food products by the European Union are key in this situation.
Anyone could ask themselves if the European agencies have been affected by this crisis and its limitations, but nothing could be further from the truth. The European Union continues to invest more than 200 million euros in agri-food promotion. From Atlas Marketing Studio, as experts in these subsidies, we invite you to contact us if you have any questions about this programme.
The only thing that can really change considerably are the areas of activity, and therefore of investment, in the case of the implementation of the programme. But, what is the most significant thing that could happen?
So far the EU Consumers, Health, Agriculture and Food Executive Agency has been providing answers to the following questions.
If the Covid-19 outbreak is affecting my international promotion programme, what are the options for adapting its implementation?
Options for adaptation of the programme to Covid-19 and CHAFEA
According to the CHAFEA agency, if the Covid-19 pandemic affects the implementation of an EU-funded programme, depending on the extent to which it affects, different options are available.
On the one hand, some of the promotional exercises that are part of the programme can be postponed with or without the need to sign an amendment to the contract. Those activities affected by the outbreak can also be partially suspended. Finally, directly terminate the contract, although it is not advisable only as a last resort.
To understand in detail what kind of amendments can be made to the international promotion programme, CHAFEA publishes the response to this.
Previously, if you have any doubts about CHAFEA’s call for proposals, we have made a summary to make it easier for you to understand. You can download it by clicking here.
In the answer to questions 2.3.13 and 2.3.15 in CHAFEA FAQs we talk about this subject more specifically, about modification of activities, transfer of economy from one year to another, signatures of contract modification, or even the types of changes that can be made through the amendment by condition of Covid-19 for example.
Main questions
Next, we will refer to different articles and sections of Chafea’s own documents which, together with the article, can be consulted here: Single Programme Grant Agreement and Multiple Programme Grant Agreement
When a subsidy is granted for the promotion of agro-food products by CHAFEA with European funds, it is based on the strategic proposal of activities and its consequent budget. These activities will have a description, KPIs and expected results.
Once the European Union programme of international promotion has been approved, each beneficiary signs the Grant Agreement which links each beneficiary to the Commission. Thanks to this agreement, amendments can be made which do not endager the contents of this programme despite being affected by Covid-19.
Those responsible for the programme must implement it in accordance with Annex I (Article 7 of the Grant Agreement). Non-compliance or incorrect implementation may result in a reduction of the grant itself (Article 27 of the Grant Agreement), suspension of payments (Article 32 of the Grant Agreement), suspension of the programme (Article 33) or cancellation of the Agreement (Article 34).
In addition, Article 39 reflects the fact that changes may not affect or impact on the award decision or the principle of equal treatment of applicants.
CHAFEA: changes that would violate the rules
Such situations do not occur frequently and would be an exceptional situation.
– They affect the composition of the consortium and have an impact on the eligibility or selection criteria;
– They involve changes to the programme and/or its budget and affect the award or selection criteria announced in the work programme/call;
– Infringe the principle of equal treatment of applicants;
– Do not comply with the rules applicable to the General Assembly or the provisions of the General Assembly itself.
Source: (CHAFEA)
The request for amendment must be justified in accordance with Article 39 of the Subsidy Agreement. It is the CHAFEA body that decides on amendments in multiple programmes. The competent authorities of the Member States in the case of single programmes.
Below you will see which changes for the European Union programmes of international promotion with European funds need or do not need amendment due to being affected by the Covid-19.
Changes requiring amendment
The following changes require amendment despite being affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
- Where beneficiary bodies may add expenditure related to subcontracts not listed in Annex I only if approved by amendment.
- On the other hand, such non-Annex I subcontracts may be approved by CHAFEA or the Member State without amendment but must be specifically justified in the technical report and not involve changes that contravene Article 39 of the Grant Agreement.
- If a budget transfer between programme activities or between year budgets is due to a significant change in Annex I, an amendment to the Subsidy Agreement will also be required.
Changes NOT requiring amendment
The estimated budget reflected in the programme proposal (Annex II of the Grant Agreement) may be adjusted while the international or national promotion programme is being implemented without the need for amendment. Transfers of the European grant funds between budget categories and/or between beneficiaries may be made if it is a multiple programme. Provided that the programme is implemented in the manner described in Annex I.
If the erroneous eligible costs are less than the estimated, the difference can be allocated to another beneficiary or another budget category. Always in compliance with Article 39 of the Grant Agreement.
These are the changes that could be made if the programme were to be seriously affected either by the Covid-19 or by another risk factor.
Suspension of the implementation of the promotion programme by Covid-19 and CHAFEA
The first paragraph of Article 33 of the Grant Agreement reflects the possibility for the beneficiary to suspend the implementation of the programme or any part of it. This could be done in case of exceptional circumstances. In cases of force majeure where implementation is impossible or excessively difficult.
The suspension must be notified to the competent authority (CHAFEA if it is a multi-programme or the Member State if it is a single one) which would analyse the circumstances.
When the circumstances allow implementation to resume, the beneficiary must restart the plan. Firstly, by formally notifying the competent authority and requesting the amendment of the contract to date the resumption.
In this case of suspension, the time elapsed in the cancellation does not count towards the duration of the programm. It is set out in Article 3 of the Grant Agreement.
These would be the measures that could be carried out in the event of a Covid-19 pandemic. Or even other factors that would seriously endanger the implementation of the European Union programme for international promotion with European funds.
As can be seen, despite the situation, CHAFEA is still committed to the promotion of agri-food products and their adaptation to the new circumstances. To find out any news related to this programme, we have a private group specialized in LinkedIn where current and future beneficiaries are in contact and we share the most relevant and updated information.
If you have any doubts about how this programme works, we have published an article on how it works, solving the most important and frequent questions.