On February 1, the deadline for submission of the single application for the CAP was opened in 2020 and its completion was scheduled for April 30.
However, with the publication of the Royal Decree 463/2020, of March 14, which declares the State of Alarm for the management of the health crisis situation caused by COVID-19, establishes a series of restrictions on the movement of people that are going to have a notable impact on said process of presentation of the single request.
The MAPA has begun the processing of a ministerial order that will establish May 15 as the end date of the deadline for submitting the single application for the 2020 campaign throughout the national territory. Based on the Community regulations today, this is the maximum date until which the term can be extended without modifying said regulations.
For this reason, Spain has requested the extension of the maximum period for submitting the single application to the European Commission until June 15. The processing of an Execution Regulation will begin shortly to extend the maximum term for the submission of the single application until that date.
The Spanish Agrarian Guarantee Fund (FEGA), in collaboration with the autonomous communities, will promote the electronic filing processes of the single application and will reinforce the different alternatives that make the most of these mechanisms, so that they can continue to present themselves through these means to the maximum number of requests. This includes both the electronic filing of the application directly by the farmer, as well as the electronic filing mechanisms by the collaborating entities. The competent authorities of the autonomous communities will provide the relevant instructions for this purpose.
All this without prejudice to the fact that, in the next few days, additional measures are taken to ensure the management, control and payment of CAP aid.
The objective of the Government of Spain is to facilitate as much as possible to farmers and ranchers, given the exceptional nature created after the decree of the State of Alarm, the presentation of their application for the CAP of the year 2020.