EU Publishes Aid Package for Farmers
EU - The main elements of the €500 million aid package for EU farmers have now been published in the Official Journal.Intended as an urgent response to the difficult situation witnessed notably on the EU dairy market, but also for pigmeat, and the negative impact in some regions of drought this summer, the support package provides Member States with flexibility on how they want to use the € 420 million targeted aid to directly benefit farmers.
Member States also have the exceptional possibility to double this sum by matching it with a nationally-funded "top-up" of up to 100 per cent of the aid they receive from the EU budget. The national top-ups can only be used for the same purposes for which the EU funds are used.
€420 million for targeted aid
As the centrepiece of the support package, the Commission has made available € 420 million for national envelopes in order to support farmers in sectors which have been mostly hit by the current market situation.
Member States have flexibility to decide how to target this support on the basis of objective and non-discriminatory criteria, and must inform the Commission of its intention by the end of December 2015.
Allocations to Member States [see table below], are based on national milk quotas (2014-15), with additional amounts to reflect those with lower prices, those more affected by the Russian embargo, and further amounts reflecting feed crop problems related to drought.
Member States are also granted the exceptional possibility to double these EU funds with national funds. Under budgetary rules, Member States need to pay out these funds to their farmers before the end of June 2016.