Following the agreement reached on April 28 with Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia, the European Commission today presented its proposal for support worth 100 million euros to representatives of all member states.

This amount, taken from the agricultural reserve for 2023, will be targeted at farmers producing cereals and oilseeds in these five frontline Member States.

The support will help Member States bordering Ukraine to partially offset problems related to logistical difficulties arising from the import of certain agricultural products from Ukraine.

In parallel, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia committed to withdraw their unilateral measures on wheat, maize, rape and sunflower seeds and all other products originating in Ukraine,

The Commission proposes to allocate EUR 9.77 million to Bulgaria, EUR 15.93 million to Hungary, EUR 39.33 million to Poland, EUR 29.73 million to Romania and EUR 5.24 million to Slovakia.

The five countries can complement this EU support by up to 200% with national funds, which would amount to a total financial aid of €300 million for the affected farmers.

The distribution takes into account the weight of each affected country in the agricultural sector of the Union, based on the amount of direct payments under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), as well as the relative growth of Ukrainian imports of cereals and oilseeds in those Member States .

The details of the Commission's proposal were discussed with representatives of the Member States during an ad hoc meeting of a committee on the common organization of agricultural markets.

All member states will vote on the proposal at the next committee meeting.

If the measure is approved by the Member States, the Commission adopts it.

It will then be published in the EU's Official Journal and enter into force the day after publication, so that the five affected member states can implement it immediately.

The government lifted the ban on the import of goods from Ukraine

The authorities of the five Member States will distribute the aid to farmers growing cereals and oilseeds in the affected areas, taking into account the extent of their difficulties and economic damage and ensuring that they are the ultimate beneficiaries of the financial aid.

Payments should be made by 30 September 2023. Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia will have to notify the Commission of the details of the implementation of the measure, in particular the criteria used to calculate the aid, the intended impact of the measure, its evaluation and the actions taken to avoid distortion of competition and overcompensation.

Context

Farmers in Member States near Ukraine have expressed concern about the impact of increased imports of Ukrainian grain and oilseeds on local markets as a result of logistical difficulties.

When increased domestic production coincided with increased imports from Ukraine, this led to an oversupply in the market.

These large stocks of cereals and oilseeds have put considerable pressure on local farmers in terms of prices, storage stocks and rising transport costs.

This also led to a reduction in the opportunities for market realization.

The Commission is working on a common European solution to overcome concerns and help affected farmers.

On April 28, an agreement was reached with the four countries and Romania, which is at the forefront of Ukrainian exports through the solidarity corridors.

On 2 May, the Commission adopted extraordinary temporary preventive measures on imports of a limited number of products from Ukraine under the extraordinary safeguard measure provided for in the Autonomous Trade Measures Regulation to allow the transit of rapeseed, sunflower seed, maize and wheat through these countries.

In parallel, the EU is taking action to facilitate the transit of Ukrainian grain through solidarity corridors to the regions that need it most.

This includes continuing to work to reduce overall logistics costs,

In relation to the effect of excessive imports from Ukraine, the Commission has already adopted a support measure worth EUR 56.3 million, financed from the agricultural reserve, intended for Poland, Bulgaria and Romania.

The measure entered into force on 6 April 2023.

Hungary

Romania

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Slovakia

farmers

Bulgaria