EU countries approve 37.4 mn in support for Italian farmers

(ANSA) - ROME, OCT 16 - The EU member States have given the green light to the European Commission's proposal to mobilize up to 120 million euros from the CAP agricultural reserve to support farmers in Italy, Bulgaria, Germany, Estonia and Romania affected by the effects of extreme weather events.
    Of these, approximately 37. 4 million will go to Italy, the second biggest beneficiary of Brussels' aid after Germany (46.5 million euros), followed by Romania (21.6 million euros), Bulgaria (10.9 million euros) and Estonia (3.3 million euros).
    "The 120 million euro package will enter into force in the next few days", Brussels announced via X.
    The current Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) provides for an agricultural reserve of at least 450 million euros per year to deal with market disruptions or exceptional events that affect production or distribution.
    The green light to the proposal - put forward last September 23 - came during the meeting of the Committee for the Common Organisation of Agricultural Markets. In the first half of 2024, Brussels recalled in putting forward the proposal, "unusually hot temperatures and unprecedented drought conditions" were recorded in the south of mainland Italy and on the islands, with consequences for the production of fruit and vegetables, wine and arable crops.
    The capitals concerned will have to send Brussels a notification by the end of the year with the details of the implementation of the measures, in particular "the criteria used to determine the granting of individual aid, the expected impact of the measure, the payment forecasts broken down by month until the end of April and the level of additional support to be provided".
    The notification must also include the actions taken to avoid distortions of competition and overcompensation.
    Once the green light is obtained, a note specifies, the aid must be distributed by 30 April 2025 and ensure that farmers are the final beneficiaries.
    #IMCAP Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
    (ANSA).