There are about 20 EU Development Programmes. And here are SOME OF THE MOST POPULAR AND BELOVED PROGRAMMES:
RURAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME 2014-2020
MEASURE 4.1. „INVESTMENTS IN AGRICULTURAL HOLDINGS”
Support: The aid is provided in the territory of the whole country for Long-term Tangible and Intangible Assets to existing or newly registered agricultural holdings according to their capacity. The support will be directed to projects related with:,Investments for modernization and mechanization (investments in tangible assets) directly connected to reduction or production costs and increase in labour productivity;,Investments for modernization and mechanization directly connected to reduction or production costs and increase in labour productivity that are related to implementation of the activities under measure “Argy- ecology and climate” and measure “Biological farming”.,Investments to achieve compliance with the new Community standards applicable for the corresponding agricultural holdings,Investments directly related with improvement of energy efficiency of the agricultural holdings;,Investments related with the storage of the farming products in order to preserve the quality of the production,Investments in machinery and equipment for environmental protection including for storage of manure fertilizer.,Investments in real property related with the activity of the agricultural holdings,Investments for establishment or re-planting of permanent plantations, dessert vines, honey tree species for production of honey and fast-growing bushes and tree species for bio-energy production. § Investment for energy production from renewable energy sources for the needs of the agricultural holdings.,Eligible Beneficiaries: Farmers /physical and legal persons/: 1. Applicants should be registered as farmers in compliance with the Act for support to agricultural producers; 2. The minimum standard production capacity of the holding of the applicant should be no less than 8 000 euro; 3. Applicants that are legal entities should prove the income from agricultural activity and/or income from service directly related with agricultural activity and/or processing of agricultural production and/or participation and support by the scheme of uniform payments of up area 4. Applicants should submit business plan that proves the improvement of activity of the agricultural holding by implementing the planned investments and activities described in detail in the Business plan; The admissibility criteria by point 3 does not apply to applicants with projects in rural areas, established up to 1 year ago before project application with investments in: "Livestock" sector, "Fruits and Vegetables" sector, the production of "oil-bearing and medical crops" and the production of technical crops. Applicants with projects in rural areas established up to 1 year ago before project application with investments in: sector "Livestock", sector "fruits and vegetables", the production of "oil-bearing and medical crops" and the production of technical crops with standard production capacity from 2 000 euro to 7 999 euro will be supported within the thematical sub-program for SMEs.,Groups/ Farmers' organizations: 1. Applicants should be acknowledge as a farmers’ organization, established under national or European legislation in force, for producer groups and/or approved for support for financial aid under the measure 9 “Establishments of groups and producers’ organizations”; 2. Investments should relate to the main agricultural activities of the members of the established organization and to the organization; 3. Applicants should submit Business plan, that proves improvement of the agricultural activities of the members of the agricultural holding and is main for the organization by applying the planned investments and activities described in detail in the submitted Business Plan.; 4. The Business plan should present that investments will benefit the whole organization members., Eligible costs:,Tangible assets:,- Purchase/acquisition, construction or renovation of buildings and other immovable propеrty used for agricultural production of the holding, including such used for protection of environment.,- Purchase and/or installation of new machinery, facilities and equipment, necessary for improvement of the agricultural production process, including such related to environmental protection, storage and preparation for sale of Agricultural Products by the holding, obtaining thermal and/or electrical energy needed for agricultural activities in the holding, improving energy efficiency.,- Establishment or re-planting of permanent plantations, including permanent plantations of dessert vines, honey tree species /for production of honey/ and other fast-growing bushes and tree species used for the production of bio-energy.,- Investments to achieve compliance with the new Community Standards. - Investments to achieve compliance with the existing Community Standards – for young farmers, receiving support under measure 6.1.,- Investments for facilities and corresponding equipment necessary for honey production and other honey products, as well as for breeding of bee-mothers. - Rehabilitation of existing and the construction of new drainage facilities and related small infrastructure, as well as the purchase of technical equipment for their exploitation.,- The purchase of land, necessary for the construction/modernized the buildings, premises and other real assets intended for agricultural production activities and/or establishing/re-planting of permanent plantations (up to 10% of the total amount of the eligible investment costs),- Purchase of specialized agricultural transport vehicles - such as trucks, tanks for milk collection, refrigerated means of transportation of the goods, means of transportation of livestock and domestic birds, etc.,Intangible assets:,- General expenses related with the project for feasibility studies, fees, fees for architects, engineers and consultants, consulting for ecological and economic sustainability of projects, technical feasibility of the project. The general expenses per project may not exceed 12% of the total eligible investment costs.,- Expenses for know-how, acquiring patent rights and licenses, costs of registration of trademarks and processes necessary to draw and implement the project,- Software purchase;,- Costs related to achieve compliance with recognized international standards, such: Introducing systems for quality management in agricultural holdings, introducing good manufacturing practices, preparation for certification. Financial conditions financial assistance is within 50% of the total investment represented by the project budget.,The percentage can be increased in following cases:,For projects submitted by young agricultural farmers, the financial assistance is increased by 10%; For integrated projects, the financial assistance is increased by 10%;,For projects related to mergers of farmers’ organizations, the financial assistance is increased by 10%;,For projects in disadvantaged areas, the financial assistance is increased by 10%;,For projects for collective investments submitted by 6 to 10 agricultural farmers, the financial assistance is increased by 10%;,For projects for collective investments submitted by more than 10 agricultural farmers, the financial assistance is increased by 20%;,For projects with investments in holdings implementing activities under measure "Biologically farming", the financial assistance is increased by 15%.,The maximum combined support for one project for each individual beneficiary is not more than 70% of the total amount of the eligible investment costs. The maximum combined support for one project for collective investments is not more than 90% of the total amount of the eligible investment costs.,The minimum amount of eligible costs for one application is 15 000 euro.,The maximum amount of each applicant for the whole period of Programme implementation is within 1 500 000 euro and the maximum amount of one project may not exceed 1 500 000 euro. The maximum amount of eligible costs for investments in Farm Machinery for one candidate for the whole period of Program implementation is within 500 000 euro. The maximum amount of eligible costs for projects, representing a collective investment submitted by 6 to 10 agricultural producers for the period for implementing the program is within 4 000 000 euro The maximum amount of eligible costs for investments in Farm Machinery for projects, representing a collective investment submitted by 6 to 10 agricultural producers for the whole period of Program implementation is within 750 000 euro The maximum amount of eligible costs for projects, representing a collective investment submitted more than 10 agricultural producers for the period for implementing the program is within 5 000 000 euro The maximum amount of eligible costs for investments in Farm Machinery for projects, representing a collective investment submitted by more than 10 agricultural producers for the whole period of Program implementation is within 1 000 000 euro The maximum amount of eligible costs for one candidate for the implementation of an integrated project for the whole period for Programme implementation is within the 1 500 000 Euro.
RURAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME 2014-2020
MEASURE 4.2. „INVESTMENTS IN PROCESSING/MARKETING OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS”
Support: The aid is provided in the territory of the whole country to existing or newly registered agricultural holdings for investments in Long-term Tangible and/or Intangible Assets improving the whole operation of the company. The support will be directed to projects related with:,Processing and/or marketing of products in the scope of Annex I to the Treaty on the functioning of the European Union or processing and/or marketing of cotton, with the exception of fishery products;,Development of new products, processes and technologies for products in the scope of Annex I to the Treaty on the functioning of the European Union or processing and/or marketing of cotton, with the exception of fishery products; The support will be directed to purchase and development of:,Investments in processes and technologies for production of products, including those related with short chain of delivery;,Investments related with construction, acquisition and modernization of buildings and other immovable assets needed for the production, processing and marketing activities,Investment in purchasing of buildings or other real estate dedicated to the business;,Purchase and installation of new machines and equipment for improvement of the production, processing and marketing,Investment in assets for storage, processing, packing, cooling, freezing and drying in order to keep quality of output and raw material;,Special transport vehicles including cooling vehicles for transporting raw materials and/or outputs;,Achieving compliance with internationally recognized quality standards and introduction of quality management system;,Investments for the production of energy from renewable energy sources for own consumption; § Investment to achieve compliance with the standards of the Community, including purifying facilities Beneficiaries:,Applicants should be registered as farmers in compliance with the Act for support to agricultural producers and groups/producers' organizations;,Enterprises /physical and legal persons/, including the producers’ markets registered under the Act for commodity exchange and market-places.,Legal entities or sole‐proprietors that are micro, small and medium or mid-large enterprises registered according to the Trade Law or the Cooperation Law.,The minimum standard production capacity of the applicant should be no less than 8 000 euro. Agricultural producers, which meet the definition of "little businesses”, will not be support by the measure. Groups/producers' organizations should comply with the following conditions:,Applicants should be acknowledged as producers’ organization in accordance with national and/or European legislation in force, for producer groups and/or approved for financial assistance at measure 9 "Establishment of groups and producers’ organizations”;,Investments should relate to the main agricultural activities of the members and main to the group/organization;,The submitted Business plan should prove improvement of the agricultural activities of the members of the group/organization and the investments benefit for the whole producers’ organization., Eligible costs:,Tangible assets:,- Purchase/acquisition, construction or renovation of buildings and other immovable propеrty needed for production and marketing;,- Purchase and installation of new machinery, facilities and equipment, necessary for improvement of the production process and marketing, including for processing, packing, cooling, freezing, drying and storage, for the manufacture of new products, introduction of new technologies and processes for environmental protection, for the production of energy from renewable energy sources, including through processing plant and animal primary and secondary biomass, to improve energy efficiency and to improve and control the quality and safety of raw materials and goods.,- Purchase of specialized agricultural transport vehicles, including refrigerated means of transportation of the goods and/or raw materials used and produced by the enterprise.,- Construction and/or modernization of laboratories needed for the enterprise;,- Achieving compliance with internationally recognized quality standards;,- Purchase of land needed for the construction/modernization of buildings, premises and other immovable assets intended for production activity (up to 10% of the total investment costs);,Intangible assets: ,- General expenses related with the project for feasibility studies, fees, fees for architects, engineers and consultants, consulting for ecological and economic sustainability of projects, technical feasibility of the project. The general expenses per project may not exceed 12% of the total eligible investment costs.,- Expenses for know-how, acquiring patent rights and licenses, costs of registration of trademarks and processes necessary to draw and implement the project,- Software purchase;,- Costs related to achieve compliance with recognized international standards, such: Introducing systems for quality management, introducing good manufacturing practices, and preparation for certification of the enterprise.,Eligible applicants: Applicants should be active in the sector of manufacturing and processing of:,Milk and milk products (including eggs and excluding products that resemble/substitute milk and milk products);,Meat and meat products;,Fruit and vegetables (including mushrooms);,Bee honey (excluding products that resemble/substitute bee honey and bee products);,Cereals, mills and farina products (excluding production and processing and/or marketing of bread and dough products);,Vegetable and animal butters and oils (excluding olive oil),Technical and medical crops, including oil content rose and herbs (excluding tobacco and tobacco products, sugar and confectionery);,Ready-made food for farm animals (forages);,Grapes must, wine and vinegar;,Production of energy by processing of initial and secondary biomass of vegetable and animal products (excluding biomass from fishery products).,Financial Conditions: Financial assistance is within 50% of the total investment represented by the project budget for SMEs and 40% for large enterprises within the meaning of the Law for SMEs. The financial assistance is increased by 10% in the following cases:,For projects with activities supported online with the European Partnership for Innovation.,The maximum combined assistance for one Beneficiary is not more than 90% of the total amount of the eligible investment costs. The minimum amount of eligible costs for one project application is 15 000 euro. The maximum amount of eligible costs for each applicant for the whole period of Programme implementation is within 3 000 000 euro. The maximum amount of each applicant for an integrated project for the whole period of Programme implementation is within 3 000 000 euro. The maximum amount of eligible costs for projects, representing a collective investment submitted by 6 to 10 producers for the whole period of Program implementation is within 4 000 000 euro. The maximum amount of eligible costs for projects, representing a collective investment submitted more than 10 producers for the period for implementing the program is within 5 000 000 euro.
RURAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME 2014-2020
Measure 6.1. Start-Up Aid for Young Farmers
Aid under this Measure will be provided to young farmers under 40 years old at the time of application, which possess adequate professional skills and competencies. Young farmers are considered as such if they are establishing a farm as a farm manager for the first time.,Eligible costs:,• Purchase of movable tangible assets (machinery, equipment or specialized vehicles);,• Purchase, construction, modernization of immovable fixed assets;,• Purchase of livestock;,• Purchase of land for agricultural activity;,• Create and / or replanting and / or recovery of perennials, table grapes, honey tree species for the production of honey and fast-growing bushes and trees for bioenergy;,Eligibility:,Beneficiaries are farmers - individuals and sole traders who meet the following eligibility criteria:,• be registered as farmers under the support of farmers;,• the economic size of the farm is in a range between 8000 and 16,000 Standard Production Volume (SPV) (Here - Standard Production Volume means the value of output corresponding to the average value for a given region for each agricultural product). Any land that is taken into account in setting the initial minimum SPV is presented with proof of ownership and / or lease / rent with a minimum period of 5 years;,• be aged from 18 to 40 years (without them reached) the date of filing of the request for assistance;,• have the appropriate skills and knowledge to be proven: secondary education in agriculture or veterinary medicine, or an average of economics and agricultural purpose; and / or higher education in agriculture or veterinary medicine, or university degree in economics with agricultural purpose; and / or a certificate of course completion of a minimum of 150 hours or a certificate of professional qualification in the field of agriculture. When the applicant does not meet the requirements for professional skills and knowledge can be approved provided that a commitment within 36 months of the decision to grant aid to cover these requirements. This option may be granted if the young farmer has provided such a need in its business plan; ',• Within 18 months before the date of application under the Measure they are first registered as agricultural producers under the Act to assist farmers;,• Within 18 months before the date of application under the Measure they have applied for the single area payment and / or payment for less-favored area;,• Within 18 months before the date of application under the Measure they have begun to breed animals in own / hired holding and / or to manage land for the production of agricultural and livestock production;,• Within 18 months before the date of application under the Measure they have begun to provide as farmers, with the exception of cases where the farmer has provided another reason for the country on maximum insurable earnings,Selection Criteria:,In assessing the projects are ranked and given priority to:,• Projects implemented by beneficiaries who have completed secondary and / or higher education in the field of agriculture, veterinary medicine or economics and agricultural purpose;,• Projects that are performed in "breeding" in particular "farm animals";,• Projects that are implemented in the sector "Fruits and Vegetables";,• Projects of young farmers whose farms are in transition to organic production or switched to organic production of agricultural products and foodstuffs,Projects that have received the same number of points for which there is insufficient budget funding will be ranked on a "first come - first served" basis.,Amount and the amount of aid: ,The total amount of aid does not exceed € 25,000 per beneficiary.,Payments shall be made twice in the form of a single premium:,First payment - to pay € 12,500 after approval of the application for support;,Second payment - to pay € 12,500 only if they correctly implement all set in the business plan activities and investment purposes.,Financial assistance for first and / or second payment may be further limited on the basis of sectoral indicators for the farm.,The young agricultural producers, farmers, must prove their investments in the amount of at least € 5,000 for each year for activities specific to their farms.,In the process of evaluating projects will be ranked and given priority to:,• Projects implemented by beneficiaries who have completed secondary and / or tertiary education in the field of agriculture, veterinary medicine or economics and agricultural purpose;,• Projects that are performed in "breeding",• Projects that are implemented in the "Fruits and Vegetables"sector,• Projects of young farmers whose farms are in transition to organic production or switched to organic production of agricultural products and foodstuffs,• Projects of young farmers who create employment and jobs.
RURAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME 2014-2020
MEASURE 6.4. „INVESTMENTS IN SUPPORT OF NON‐AGRICULTURAL ACTIVITIES”
Support: The support will be directed to projects related with non-agricultural activities:,Tourism development (construction and renovation of tourist sites and development of tourist services);,Production and sale of products not included in Annex 1 of the Treaty on the functioning of the European Union (regardless of the input products and materials);,Development of services in all sectors (for example: care of children, adults, disabled persons, health services, accounting and auditing services, veterinary activities and services based on IT, etc.); § Production of energy from renewable energy sources for own consumption;,Development of Crafts (including the provision of services related to the participation of visitors in Handicraft activities) industries and other non-agricultural activities.,This measure will not support: activities, which lead to agricultural activity or results of the activity is a product included in Annex I to the Treaty on the functioning of the European Union. No financial assistance is provided for gambling, financial services, golf, sectors and activities, declared as inadmissible in Regulation (EC) № 1407/2013 of the Commission of 18 December 2013 concerning the application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union towards the ‘de minimis’ aid, the production of energy from renewable energy sources for sale. No financial assistance is provided for the construction and renovation of tourist sites and development of tourist services in the large well established resorts with developed mass tourism. Populated places with developed mass tourism and resorts referred to in Annex under measure 6.2 and 6.4.,Beneficiaries: Agricultural producers, small enterprises registered as Sole Proprietors or legal entities under the Commercial Law, Law for the cooperative or Law on Religion, Individuals registered according to the Handcrafts Law and only for the activities they are registered for. The beneficiaries should have a registered address on the territory of the specifically defined rural areas in Bulgaria.,Eligible costs: Financial aid for tangible and intangible assets for the creation and development of non-agricultural activities in rural areas, including: а) The construction, acquisition or renovation in real estate; b) Purchase, including through leasing of new machinery and equipment to the market value of the assets; c) General expenses related with the project for feasibility studies, fees, fees for architects, engineers and consultants, consulting for ecological and economic sustainability of projects, technical feasibility of the project; d) Intangible assets: purchase of software, Expenses for know-how, acquiring patent rights and licenses, costs of registration of trademarks and processes necessary to draw and implement the project.,The general expenses per project may not exceed 12% of the total eligible investment costs. Operational costs are not eligible. Costs are accepted only if done after the Application submission.,Eligibility: The Projects and applicants must meet the following conditions:,Applicants should submit business plan that proves the improvement of activity by implementing the planned investments and activities described in detail in the Business plan;,The holding of candidates, agricultural producers must have a Standard Production Volume over 8 000 euro;,The investments in the production of electricity from biomass is not supported if it does not produce 10% thermal energy of the total produced energy.,Raw materials from grains and other rich in starch crops, sugar and oil-bearing crops used to produce bio-energy, including bio-fuels will be limited to:,- 50% of cereals and other rich in starch crops, as well as raw materials, which are used for feed;,- 75% raw materials from oil-bearing crops. Restrictions do not apply to waste products. The measure will support construction or/and reconstruction or/and refurbishment of tourist sites with up to 20 spaces for accommodation. Projects that included investments in energy production from RES (Renewable Energy Sources) is supported, if not exceed the quantity of energy necessary to cover the needs of the enterprise. Projects for the production of bio-fuels and liquid fuels from biomass will be supported provided that meet the sustainability criteria laid down in Art. 37-40 of the Law of the energy from renewable sources.,Non eligible expenditures are as follows:,1. Purchase of equipment, machines and installation second hand;,2. Purchase of land and buildings;,3. Value added tax (VAT), except non-refundable VAT;,4. Leasing;,5. Operational expenditures, including maintenance expenditures, rents;,6. Bank taxes, guarantees, interest payment and refinancing, insurances;,7. In kind contributions;,8. Payments in cash., Selection criteria: The selection criteria aim to guarantee the support will be distributed according to the determined needs and goals:,Projects involving investments for development of the “green economy”;,Projects involving innovations;,Projects for development for rural, eco- and cultural tourism and other alternative forms of tourism;,Projects submitted by applicants having experience or education in the sector for which the application is directed;,The applicants should have shown some relevant activity for at least 3 years before the application date;,Applicants approved under measure “Start-Up Aid for Non-Agricultural Activities”;,Projects of tobacco producers;,Projects in the sectors listed in point "Measures on the establishment of new enterprises and stimulation of entrepreneurship" from the National strategy for promoting small and medium-sized enterprises ( for example: computers, optics and electronics, cars and other transport vehicles, metal products, printing industry, information technology);,The support will focus on the poorest regions.,The support will focus on projects with a higher added value and projects that create new jobs,Financial conditions: The grant is 70% of the total eligible costs but not exceeding 200 000 EUR. The minimum amount of the total eligible costs for an individual project is: 10 000 EUR. The maximum amount of the total eligible costs for an individual project is 400 000 EUR. In the case of an integrated project, the cost for non-agricultural activity should not exceed those maximum values.
RENEWABLE ENERGIES PROGRAMMES AND MANY OTHER EU PROGRAMMES & MEASURES!