According to MADR (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development), Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia have received a positive vote from the member states for grants totaling 100 million euros to compensate for the economic losses caused by imports of cereals and oilseeds from Ukraine, within the Common Market Organization Committee.

Building on the first package of 56 million euros approved on April 3rd, the EC (European Commission) proposes the approval of the second tranche worth 100 million euros for the five member states affected by cereal imports. Additionally, the EC has adopted a new regulation on autonomous measures, valid until September 15th, which prohibits imports of key food products.

Thus, Romania will receive the amount of 29,730,000 euros, while the rest of the states will receive the following amounts:

(a) 9,770,000 euros for Bulgaria; (b) 15,930,000 euros for Hungary; (c) 39,330,000 euros for Poland; (d) 5,240,000 euros for Slovakia.

The regulation allows the five countries to add additional grants up to 200%, provided that the payments do not distort the market or result in overcompensation, and the payments are made by December 31st, 2023.

At the same time, the European Commission has stated that the financial support package aims to partially compensate the most affected farmers for cereal imports from Ukraine in the five neighboring conflict-affected member states. The allocation key took into account the level of direct payments, cereal trade, and related fluctuations.

By no later than September 30th, 2023, the five countries will notify the EC regarding:

a. the description of the measures to be taken; b. the criteria used to determine the methods for calculating the aid and justification for the allocation of aid among farmers; c. the anticipated impact of the measures to compensate farmers for the economic losses caused by cereal and oilseed imports from Ukraine; d. the actions taken to achieve the anticipated impact of the measures; e. the actions taken to avoid distortion of competition and overcompensation; f. the forecast for Union expenditure payments broken down on a monthly basis until December 31st, 2023; g. the level of additional support provided under Article 2(2); h. the actions taken to control farmer eligibility and protect the financial interests of the EU.

The measure will take effect after publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.