The European Commission proposed to allocate €119,7 million from the agricultural reserve to directly support farmers from Bulgaria, Germany, Estonia, Italy and Romania who have been impacted by exceptional adverse climatic events in Spring and early Summer.
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The Commission proposed to allocate €10,9 million to Bulgaria, €46,5 million to Germany, €3,3 million to Estonia, €37,4 million to Italy and €21,6 million to Romania.
This will contribute to compensating farmers from these countries who have lost part of their production and as a result, part of their income.
The amounts are a sign of EU solidarity with affected farmers, which can be complemented by up to 200% with national funds.
Once adopted, national authorities will have to distribute this aid by 30 April 2025 and ensure that farmers are the ultimate beneficiaries.
The Member States concerned will also have to notify the Commission by 31 December 2024 about the details of the measures' implementation, notably the criteria used to determine the granting of individual aid, the intended impact of the measure, the forecasts for payments broken down per month until the end of April, and the level of additional support to be provided.
The notification should also include the actions taken to avoid distortion of competition and overcompensation.
The Commission's proposal will be discussed with all Member States, before they decide on its approval during meeting of the Committee for the Common Organisation of Agricultural Markets on 7 October.
Farmers in other Member States have been affected by extreme weather events in the second half of Summer. The Commission will assess whether such damages also warrant EU solidarity to be provided.
In the first half of 2024, unusually warm temperatures and dry conditions of unprecedent magnitude were recorded in the southern mainland and islands of Italy. This affected the production of fruit and vegetables, wine and arable crops.
Bulgaria was also affected by drought during the summer with an impact on crops sown in spring, especially maize and sunflower.
In July, Romania was hit by heatwaves, drought but also violent storms and heavy hail, damaging the production of arable crops and oilseeds.
In April, frost in parts of Germany significantly damaged orchards and vines after they started growing following mild temperatures in March.
As for Estonia, it suffered from extraordinary fluctuating weather conditions going from frost and cold spells in December and January to unusually warm temperatures in March, followed by frost and hail and later in the summer, intense rainfall and floods.
Production of crops, in particular potatoes, rapeseed, fruit and vegetables, was negatively affected.
In July, part of the agricultural reserve was already allocated to Austria, Czechia, and Poland, which faced similar adverse climatic events, as well as Portugal, which was dealing with serious market disturbances in the case of wine producers. ■