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1. The Union financial assistance shall be equal to the amount of the financial contributions referred to in Article 51(1), point (a), actually paid and limited to 50 % of the actual expenditure incurred.

2. The Union financial assistance shall be limited to:

(a) 4,1 % of the value of the marketed production of each producer organisation;

(b) 4,5 % of the value of marketed production of each association of producer organisations;

(c) 5 % of the value of marketed production of each transnational producer organisation or transnational association of producer organisations. Those limits may be increased by 0,5 percentage points provided that the amount in excess of the relevant percentage set out in the first subparagraph is used solely for one or more interventions linked to the objectives referred to in Article 46, points (d), (e), (f), (h), (i) and (j). In the case of associations of producer organisations, including transnational associations of producer organisations, those interventions may be implemented by the association on behalf of its members.

3. At the request of a producer organisation or of an association of producer organisations, the 50 % limit provided for in paragraph 1 shall be increased to 60 % for an operational programme or part of an operational programme if at least one of the following applies:

(a) transnational producer organisations implement in two or more Member States interventions linked to the objectives referred to in Article 46, points (b), (e) and (f);

(b) one or more producer organisations or associations of producer organisations are engaged in interventions operated on an interbranch basis;

(c) the operational programme covers solely specific support for the production of organic products covered by Regulation (EU) 2018/848;

(d) the producer organisation or the association of producer organisations recognised under Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 implements for the first time an operational programme;

(e) producer organisations market less than 20 % of fruit and vegetable production in a Member State;

(f) the producer organisation operates in one of the outermost regions;

(g) the operational programme comprises the interventions linked to the objectives referred to in Article 46, points (d), (e), (f), (i) and (j);

(h) the operational programme is for the first time implemented by a recognised producer organisation which is the result of a merger between two or more recognised producer organisations.

4. The 50 % limit provided for in paragraph 1 shall be increased to 80 % for expenditure linked to the objective referred to in Article 46, point (d), if that expenditure covers at least 5 % of the expenditure under the operational programme.

5. The 50 % limit provided for in paragraph 1 shall be increased to 80 % for expenditure linked to the objectives referred to in Article 46, points (e) and (f), if that expenditure covers at least 20 % of the expenditure under the operational programme.

6. The 50 % limit provided for in paragraph 1 shall be increased to 100 % in the following cases:

(a) market withdrawals of fruit and vegetables which do not exceed 5 % of the volume of marketed production of each producer organisation and which are disposed of by way of:

(i) free distribution to charitable organisations and foundations approved to that effect by the Member States, for use in their activities to assist persons whose right to public assistance is recognised in national law, in particular because they lack the necessary means of subsistence;

(ii) free distribution to penal institutions, schools and public education institutions, establishments referred to in Article 22 of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 and to children’s holiday camps as well as to hospitals and old people’s homes designated by the Member States, which shall take all necessary steps to ensure that the quantities thus distributed are additional to the quantities normally bought in by such establishments;

(b) actions related to coaching of other producer organisations recognised under Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013, provided that those producer organisations are from regions of Member States referred to in Article 53(2) of this Regulation, or of individual producers.