1.Grants may be awarded to Member States up to the maximum rates set in Article 5(1) to (3) for the following measures against pests, subject to the conditions laid down in Article 17:
measures to eradicate a pest from an infested area, taken by the competent authorities pursuant to Article 16(1) and (2) of Directive 2000/29/EC or pursuant to the Union measures adopted in accordance with Article 16(3) of that Directive;
measures to contain a pest, against which Union containment measures have been adopted pursuant to Article 16(3) of Directive 2000/29/EC, in an infested area from which that pest cannot be eradicated, where those measures are essential to protect the Union against further spread of that pest. Those measures shall exclusively concern the eradication of that pest from the buffer zone in case its presence is detected in that buffer zone;
additional protective measures taken against the spread of a pest, against which Union measures have been adopted pursuant to Article 16(3) of Directive 2000/29/EC, other than the eradication measures referred to in point (a) and the containment measures referred to in point (b), where those measures are essential to protect the Union against further spread of that pest.
Grants for measures referred to in points (a) and (b) of the first subparagraph may also be awarded for measures taken as a result of a suspected presence of such a pest, provided that that presence is subsequently confirmed.
2.Grants referred to in paragraph 1 may also be awarded to a Member State in whose territory the pests referred to in paragraph 1 are not present, where measures have been taken against the entry of those pests into the territory of that Member State because of their presence in a neighbouring Member State or third country immediately adjacent to its border.
3.Grants may be awarded to Member States where, following the confirmation of the presence of one of the pests referred to in Article 17, two or more Member States collaborate closely in carrying out the measures referred to in paragraph 1.
4.Grants in respect of the measures referred to in points (a) to (c) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 1 may also be awarded to international organisations.