EU approves 2nd tranche to support countries affected by cereal trade from Ukraine;Romania to receive 29.73mil EUR

EU approves 2nd tranche to support countries affected by cereal trade from Ukraine;Romania to receive 29.73mil EUR.

The European Union member states have approved the second tranche of support for the five countries affected by the cereal trade from Ukraine, with Romania following to receive 29.73 million EUR, a press release of the Ministry of Agriculture informed, told Agerpres.

"Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia received a positive vote from the member states for grants totalling 100 million EUR to compensate for economic losses caused by imports of cereals and oilseeds from Ukraine, within the Committee for the Common Organisation of the Agricultural Markets. Starting from the first package worth 56 million EUR approved on 3 April, the EC is proposing to approve a second tranche worth 100 million EUR for the five member states affected by cereal imports. In addition, the EC has adopted a new regulation on autonomous measures, valid 15 September this year, which provides for a ban on imports for the main food products. Thus, Romania will receive an amount of 29,730,000 EUR," the press release mentions.

According to the source, Bulgaria will receive 9.77 million EUR, Hungary 15.93 million EUR, Poland 39.33 million EUR and Slovakia 5.24 million EUR.

The regulation gives the five countries the possibility to add additional grants of up to 200%, provided that the payments do not distort the market or produce overcompensation, and that the payments are made by 31 December 2023.

Furthermore, the European Commission mentioned that the financial support package is aimed at partially compensating the farmers most affected by cereal imports from Ukraine for the 5 member states neighboring the conflict. The allocation key took into account the level of direct payments, the level of grain trade and related fluctuations.

By 30 September 2023 at the latest, the five countries will notify the EC of the description of the measures to be taken, the criteria used to determine the methods for calculating the aid and the justification for the distribution of the aid among farmers, the expected impact of the measures to compensate farmers for the economic losses caused by imports of grains and oilseeds from Ukraine, the actions taken to achieve the expected impact of the measures, the actions taken in order to avoid distortion of competition and overcompensation, the forecast for the payments of the Union expenditure broken down by month until 31 December 2023, the level of additional support granted under article 2 paragraph (2) and the actions taken to control the eligibility of farmers and to protect the financial interests of the EU.

The measure enters into force after its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.