
Article 1 

1. Union aid shall be available, within the limits of Articles 2 and 5, to farmers for hectares of land situated in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Finland which cannot be used for winter sowing or which already sown for the 2018/2019 marketing year harvest have been lost, due to heavy rainfalls and flooding occurred between August and October 2017 in these Member States provided that:
(a) these hectares of land amount to at least 30 % of a farmer's total winter sowings area in the Member State concerned;
(b) the farmers did not benefit, for the same loss, from any kind of national aid, insurance or aid financed by a Union contribution, other than that provided for by this Regulation.
2. The number of eligible hectares per farmer shall be established by the Member States concerned in accordance with the conditions laid down in paragraph 1.
Article 2 

1. Under the conditions laid down in paragraphs 2 and 4, each Member State concerned shall decide on the amount of the aid per eligible hectare.
2. The Union expenditure incurred in accordance with Article 1 shall not exceed a total amount of:
(a) EUR 9 120 000 for Lithuania;
(b) EUR 3 460 000 for Latvia;
(c) EUR 1 340 000 for Estonia;
(d) EUR 1 080 000 for Finland.
3. Member States concerned may grant additional support for the eligible hectares as referred to in Article 1(2) of up to a maximum of 100 % of the amount decided in accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article.Member States concerned shall pay the additional support by 30 September 2018 at the latest.
4. The sum of aid referred to in Article 1 and, if applicable, additional support referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article shall not exceed, for each Member State, the amount of direct payment as calculated by dividing the national envelope set for calendar year 2017 for that Member State in Annex II to Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council by the total number of eligible hectares declared in calendar year 2017 in the Member State concerned in accordance with point (a) of Article 72(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council.
Article 3 
Aid referred to in Article 1 shall be paid on the basis of an application lodged by farmers with eligible hectares in accordance with the methods and time limits set by national law in the Member State concerned.
Article 4 
Member States concerned shall take all necessary measures, including exhaustive administrative and on-the-spot checks in accordance with Articles 58 and 59 of Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 to ensure compliance with the conditions laid down in this Regulation. In particular, prior to granting the aid Member States shall carry out:

((a)) administrative checks on all aid applications, including:

((i)) the eligibility of the applicant;
((ii)) the number of eligible hectares in accordance with Article 1(2) on the basis of on-farm checks, historical records and the Integrated Administration and Control System in accordance with Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 809/2014;
((iii)) verifying that funding has not been received by any eligible applicant from any other sources as referred to in Article 1(1)(b) in respect of the same hectares;
((b)) on-the-spot checks at the premises of the applicants.
The on-the-spot checks shall cover at least 5 % of the total aid claimed.
Article 5 

1. Expenditure in relation to payments under this Regulation shall only be eligible for Union financing if those payments have been made to the beneficiaries by 30 September 2018 at the latest.
2. Article 5(2) of Delegated Regulation (EU) No 907/2014 shall not apply.
Article 6 

1. Member States concerned shall notify to the Commission the measures to be taken in accordance with Article 4, not later than 60 days after the date of entry into force of this Regulation.
2. No later than 15 months after the date of entry into force of this Regulation, Member States concerned shall send to the Commission a detailed report on the implementation of this Regulation, including details as regards the execution of the measures taken and checks carried out in accordance with Article 4.
3. Member States concerned shall communicate to the Commission the clearance of payments.
Article 7 
This Regulation shall enter into force on the seventh day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.Done at Brussels, 23 January 2018.
For the Commission
The President
Jean-Claude JUNCKER