The Commission is not aware of the spreading of the brown marmorated stink bug and consequent damages to Italian agriculture. At the moment, no official requests have been received from the Italian Authorities. The pest is present in a number of Member States and it is not regulated as a quarantine pest in the EU.

The Italian Regional Rural Development Programmes (RDP) may include, under Measure 5 ‘Restoring agricultural production potential damaged by natural disasters and catastrophic events and introduction of appropriate prevention actions’, support for investments in preventive actions aimed at reducing the consequences of probable natural disasters, and support for investments for the restoration of agricultural land and production potential damaged by natural disasters (including naturally occurring events of a biotic nature). Support under this measure is not granted for loss of income resulting from the natural disaster.

The Italian National RDP, under Measure 17, foresees an income stabilisation tool in the framework of risk management, which can be triggered where the drop in income exceeds 30% of the average annual income at farm level in the preceding three years.

The Italian authorities may also consider granting state aids as compensation for income losses caused by plant pests in accordance with the conditions enshrined in the applicable EU State aid rules[1]. They also have the option to grant de minimis aids under Commission Regulation (EU) No 1408/2013[2], i.e. aids of a limited amount considered as not being able to distort competition (up to EUR 15 000 over any period of three fiscal years, within the limits of a national cap).

• [1] See in particular Article 26 of Commission Regulation (EU) No 702/2014 of 25 June 2014 declaring certain categories of aid in the agricultural and forestry sectors and in rural areas compatible with the internal market in application of Articles 107 and 108 of the TFEU (OJ L 193, 1.7.2014, p. 1); Section 1.2.1.3 of the EU Guidelines for state aid in the agricultural and forestry sectors and in rural areas 2014 to 2020 (OJ C 204, 1.7.2014, p. 1), amended by the Notice published in OJ C 390, 24.11.2015, p. 4.
• [2] Commission Regulation (EU) No 1408/2013 of 18 December 2013 on the application of Articles 107 and 108 of the treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to de minimis aid in the agriculture sector (OJ L 352, 24.12.2013, p. 9).