General rules

1.   The crop-specific payment for cotton shall be granted per hectare of eligible area of cotton. The area shall be eligible only if it is located on agricultural land authorised by the Member State for cotton production, sown with varieties authorised by the Member State and actually harvested under normal growing conditions.
2.   The crop-specific payment for cotton shall be paid for cotton of sound, fair and marketable quality.
3.   Bulgaria, Greece, Spain and Portugal shall authorise the land and the varieties referred to in paragraph 1 in accordance with any rules and conditions adopted pursuant to paragraph 5.
4.   For the interventions covered in this Subsection:
(a)
the eligibility of the expenditure incurred shall be determined on the basis of Article 37, point (a), of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116;
(b)
for the purposes of Article 12(2) of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116, the opinion to be provided by the certification bodies shall cover points (a), (b) and (d) thereof, as well as the management declaration.
5.   The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 152 supplementing this Regulation with rules and conditions for the authorisation of land and varieties for the purposes of the crop-specific payment for cotton.
6.   The Commission shall adopt implementing acts laying down rules on the procedure for the authorisation of land and varieties for the purposes of the crop-specific payment for cotton and on the notifications to the producers related to this authorisation. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 153(2).