Regulation (EU) 2023/2674 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 November 2023 amending Council Regulation (EC) No 1217/2009 as regards conversion of the Farm Accountancy Data Network into a Farm Sustainability Data Network

1 To meet the needs of the common agricultural policy (CAP), including the evaluation of its impact on the agricultural sector, a farm sustainability data network (FSDN) is set up for the collection and analysis of farm-level sustainability data covering the economic, environmental and social dimensions (FSDN data). FSDN data may be used to contribute to the assessment of additional aspects related to the sustainability of Union agriculture and to address challenges faced by Union agriculture.

2 FSDN data shall cover the topics set out in Annex -I. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts, in accordance with Article 19a, amending Annex -I in order to modify those topics or to add new ones. When exercising its power to adopt those delegated acts, the Commission shall: (a) ensure that the delegated acts are duly justified and do not create significant additional burden on the Member States or returning holdings; (b) carry out analyses of the relevance, feasibility and proportionality of such an amendment, including the availability and quality of appropriate data sources, in particular relevant administrative sources, and take the results of those analyses duly into account; (c) ensure that new topics added are linked to the CAP objectives; (d) not add new topics until 20 December 2028; (e) adopt those delegated acts, when new topics are added, at least one year before the date of application of the related implementing act as referred to in Article 8(4).

3 FSDN data and data from other datasets set out in Article 4a shall be used to carry out analyses on the state of sustainability of Union agriculture, including in a format allowing benchmarking. The Commission shall make the results of those analyses publicly available in the form of aggregated and anonymised FSDN data. Those data may be used to provide benchmarking information or advice to farmers with the aim of facilitating the management of holdings and improving their sustainability. The publication of results and the use of data for benchmarking or advice purposes shall comply with Article 16.

4 Member States may decide to use FSDN data as a data source as referred to in Article 8(1), point (c), of Regulation (EU) 2022/2379 of the European Parliament and of the Council , in Article 4(1), point (c), of Regulation (EU) 2018/1091 of the European Parliament and of the Council , in Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 138/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council , or in other acts adopted on the basis of Article 338(1) TFEU.

For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions apply: (1) “farmer” means a natural or legal person whose holding is situated in the Union; (2) “farm” or “holding” means a single unit, both technically and economically, that has a single management and that undertakes economic activities in agriculture in accordance with the general use of those terms in the context of Union agricultural surveys and censuses; (3) “category of holding” means a group of holdings that belong to the same category, as regards the type of farming and economic size, as defined in the Union typology for holdings referred to in Article 5b; (4) “returning holding” means any holding for which a farm return is compiled for the purposes of the FSDN; (5) “farm return” means the form, either to be compiled or already compiled, with data about the returning holding excluding the links and data referred to in Article 4a(1); (6) “Farm Sustainability Data Network division” or “FSDN division” means the territory of a Member State, or any part thereof, delimited with a view to the selection of returning holdings; a list of such divisions is set out in Annex I; (7) “data collector” means a liaison agency or an entity tasked by the liaison agency with collecting FSDN data; (8) “standard output” means standard value of gross production; (9) “personal data” means personal data as defined in Article 4, point (1), of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council and in Article 3, point (1), of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council ; (10) “individual data” means data associated with a returning holding which allow the holding or the farmer to be identified, either directly or indirectly, and which can be personal data or data concerning legal persons; (11) “anonymised data” means data in a form which does not allow natural or legal persons to be identified directly or indirectly; (12) “pseudonymised data” means individual data that can no longer be attributed to a specific natural or legal person without the use of additional information, provided that such additional information is kept separately and is subject to technical and organisational measures to ensure that the individual data are not attributed to an identified or identifiable natural or legal person; (13) “aggregated data” means the output resulting from combinations or calculations based on data related to several returning holdings.

In order to ensure that the list of FSDN divisions can be updated following a request by a Member State, the Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts, in accordance with Article 19a, amending Annex I with respect to the list of FSDN divisions per Member State.’

1 Farm returns shall be compiled by means of surveys for which Member States may use, where relevant, data from the data sources referred to in paragraph 2 and other relevant data sources, as well as data compilation methods or innovative approaches for data sharing and compiling.

2 The liaison agencies shall have the right to access and use, free of charge, the following data sources: (a) the Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS) established by Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 of the European Parliament and of the Council ; (b) the system for the identification and registration of kept terrestrial animals established by Regulation (EU) 2016/429 of the European Parliament and of the Council ; (c) the vineyard register implemented in accordance with Article 145 of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council ; (d) the organic farming registers set up pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2018/848 of the European Parliament and of the Council ; (e) Member States’ data for performing the monitoring and evaluation of CAP Strategic Plans (DME) obtained in accordance with the implementing act adopted on the basis of Article 133 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 of the European Parliament and of the Council ; (f) where relevant, farm-level records collected for the establishment by Member States of action programmes pursuant to Article 5 of Council Directive 91/676/EEC ; (g) any other relevant data source accessible to Member States’ authorities.

3 Member States shall ensure that liaison agencies have the right to access and use the data sources referred to in paragraph 2. Member States may establish for that purpose the necessary cooperation mechanisms that facilitate effective access to, and use of, those data sources. The right of access and use shall also be granted where the liaison agency delegates tasks to legal or natural persons to be carried out on its behalf.

4 The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts, in accordance with Article 19a, amending paragraph 2 of this Article by adding new appropriate data sources established by Union law.

1 In addition to the farm return, the Member States shall determine the links between the returning holding and the identifiers pertaining to that holding in the following datasets: (a) DME; (b) IACS. Member States shall send to the Commission either those links, or directly the data related to the returning holding in the datasets referred to in the first subparagraph, other than identifiers. The Member States which send the data directly shall provide the FSDN number of the returning holding.

2 The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts, in accordance with Article 19a, amending the list of datasets referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article and adding new appropriate and relevant datasets. When exercising its power to adopt those delegated acts, the Commission shall: (a) ensure that the delegated acts are duly justified and do not create significant additional burden on the Member States or returning holdings; (b) carry out analyses of the relevance, feasibility, proportionality and quality of such datasets and take the results of those analyses duly into account.

3 The Commission shall adopt implementing acts listing the data to be extracted from the datasets referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, as well as laying down detailed rules on technical specifications and deadlines for transmission of those data between Member States and the Commission. Those data shall be linked to the purpose of this Regulation as set out in Article 1 and to one or more of the topics set out in Annex -I. When adopting those implementing acts, the Commission shall take into account the relevance of those data and the feasibility of extracting data referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 19b(2).

4 The Commission shall prepare and make available to the Member States technical guidelines on the methodology for extracting the relevant data.’

1 The field of the survey shall cover holdings having an economic size equal to, or greater than, a threshold corresponding to one of the lower limits of the economic size classes of the Union typology for holdings referred to in Article 5b. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts, in accordance with Article 19a, supplementing this Regulation with the rules on fixing the threshold referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph. Those rules shall ensure that farms of smaller economic size are adequately represented in the plans for the selection of returning holdings established by the Member States in accordance with Article 5a. The Commission shall adopt, on the basis of data and input received from Member States, implementing acts fixing the threshold referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 19b(2).

2 To qualify as a returning holding, a holding shall: (a) be covered by the field of the survey referred to in paragraph 1; (b) be representative, together with the other holdings and at the level of each FSDN division, of the field of survey.

3 Member States may adopt national rules to encourage participation in surveys. In exceptional cases, Member States may also adopt rules to address possible cases in which the number of returning holdings set in the plan for the selection of returning holdings is likely not to be achieved. Such rules, however, shall not provide for penalties for farmers.’

1 Each returning holding shall be the subject of an individual farm return and shall be identified in the FSDN by a unique national FSDN number.

2 The data provided by each duly completed farm return shall be such that it is possible to: (a) describe the returning holding by reference to the main elements of its factors of production; (b) describe the income of the holding in its various forms; (c) describe the economic, environmental and social situation of the holding; (d) verify the information given by appropriate means, such as on-the-spot checks and remote controls.

3 The data on the farm return shall relate to a single holding and to a single reporting year of 12 consecutive months. Those data shall refer to agricultural activities of the holding itself and other gainful activities directly related to the holding. No data related to any inheritance, private bank accounts, property other than the holding, personal taxation or private insurance shall be taken into account in preparing the farm returns.

4 In order to ensure that the data collected by means of farm returns are comparable, irrespective of the returning holdings surveyed, the Commission shall adopt implementing acts laying down rules on the following: (a) the variables and the definitions of variables linked to one or more of the topics set out in Annex -I; (b) the start and the end of the reporting year; (c) the form and layout of the farm return; (d) the methods and deadlines for data transmission to the Commission, including possible extensions of deadlines and exemptions for specific variables that may be granted to a Member State upon justified request; (e) the frequency of data transmission, which shall be annual or less frequent depending on the nature of variables. When adopting those implementing acts, the Commission shall, to the greatest extent possible, make use of variables available from existing data sources when adding, modifying or replacing variables, and take into account the need not to create significant additional burden on the Member States or returning holdings. Before adopting those implementing acts, the Commission shall analyse the feasibility of the proposed variables based, inter alia, on inputs from Member States, including the availability and quality of new and existing data sources, possible implementation of new methods, and the financial burden on the Member States and returning holdings. The results of that analysis shall be discussed in the committee referred to in Article 19b(1). The implementing acts referred to in this paragraph shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 19b(2).’

1 The farm returns and either the links or the data referred to in Article 4a shall be submitted to the Commission by the liaison agency by means of a computerised data system established by the Commission. The data shall be submitted electronically on the basis of forms made available to the liaison agency through that system.

2 The Commission shall adopt implementing acts laying down detailed rules on storage, processing, reuse and sharing of data referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article within the Commission. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 19b(2).’

1 Individual data obtained during the implementation of this Regulation shall be used only for performing tasks for the purpose of Article 1 of this Regulation. In any event, Member States and the Commission shall not use such individual data for any other purposes, in particular for controls in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 or for taxation purposes.

2 FSDN data and, for the purposes of this Regulation, data from other datasets set out in Article 4a may be made public provided that they are both aggregated and anonymised.

3 The Commission may grant access to pseudonymised data for research purposes. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts, in accordance with Article 19a, to supplement this Regulation with the rules and conditions for such access at Union level. When adopting those delegated acts, the Commission shall take into account the need for the protection of individual data and, in particular, the rules for data transfers to recipients located outside the territory of the Union as set out in Chapter V of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and Chapter V of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725. The Commission shall request an opinion of the European Data Protection Supervisor prior to adopting those delegated acts.’

1 The Member States and the Commission shall each adopt and implement appropriate technical and organisational measures, including as regards the computerised data system referred to in Article 8a, to ensure and to be able to demonstrate that their collection, processing, compilation and transmission of individual data are restricted to the purposes of this Regulation.

2 Individual data shall be kept as long as they are needed to perform time series analyses.

3 Individual data shall not be made available to persons other than those whose functions require them to have access to those data for the purposes of this Regulation.

4 It shall be prohibited for any person participating or having participated in the FSDN to divulge any individual data or any other individual details the knowledge of which was acquired in the exercise of their duties or otherwise incidentally to such exercise. Member States and the Commission shall take all appropriate measures to address infringements of that prohibition.

1 The processing, management and use of personal data collected under this Regulation shall comply with Regulations (EU) 2016/679 and (EU) No 2018/1725.

2 The Commission shall be the controller for the processing of personal data included in farm returns from the moment those data are received by the Commission. Member States shall determine the controller, and, where relevant, the processor, for the processing of personal data included in farm returns concerning holdings situated in their territories.’

1 The European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) shall finance expenditure covering: (a) an amount payable to the Member States for the delivery of duly completed farm returns delivered within the set deadline up to the maximum number of returning holdings as fixed in accordance with Article 5a(2); where the total number of duly completed and delivered farm returns in respect of an FSDN division or a Member State is less than 80 % of the number of returning holdings laid down in accordance with Article 5a(2) and (3) for that FSDN division or for the Member State concerned, the amount applied for each farm return from that FSDN division or from the Member State concerned shall be reduced by 20 %; if such reduction was already applied for the two previous consecutive years in respect of an FSDN division or a Member State, the reduction shall be of 25 %; (b) all the costs of the computerised data systems operated by the Commission for running and developing the FSDN and for the reception, verification, processing, interoperability and analysis of the data supplied by the Member States; those costs include, where appropriate, the costs of disseminating the results of those operations and the costs of studies into, and development of, other aspects of the FSDN.

2 The EAGF shall also provide financial contributions to Member States in order to contribute to Member States’ implementation costs when setting up the system for collecting the environmental and social variables under this Regulation, including for training and interoperability between data collection systems, necessitates significant adaptations in the FADN data collection system of a Member State. Such contributions shall be provided to Member States by 31 December 2027.

3 The amount referred to in paragraph 1, point (a), may be partly or entirely paid to farmers for their participation in FSDN surveys in accordance with allocation criteria established by Member States.

4 The Commission shall adopt implementing acts establishing the detailed procedures in relation to the amount referred to in paragraph 1, point (a), and to the contributions referred to in paragraph 2. In the implementing acts relating to the contributions, the Commission shall make clear on the basis of which criteria those contributions are to be allocated. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 19b(2).’

1 The Commission shall be assisted by a committee called “Committee for the Farm Sustainability Data Network”. That committee shall be a committee within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council .

2 Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 shall apply. In the case of implementing acts referred to in Article 4a(3) and Article 8(4), point (a), of this Regulation, where the Committee delivers no opinion, the Commission shall not adopt the draft implementing act and Article 5(4), third subparagraph, of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 shall apply.

The Commission shall submit to the European Parliament and to the Council by 20 December 2028 an evaluation report on the implementation of Article 4a and Article 7(1), point (g), accompanied, where appropriate, by a proposal for a legislative act amending Article 19(1), point (a).’

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.