The European Commission said on Tuesday it "has approved a EUR 836 million (PLN 3.9 billion) Polish scheme to support the agricultural sector in the context of Russia's invasion of Ukraine."
The EU executive added it was giving the green light to the support under temporary state aid rules it adopted in March, "recognising that the EU economy is experiencing a serious disturbance."
Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of competition policy, was quoted as saying that "this EUR 836 million scheme will enable Poland to support the farmers affected by the input costs increase caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the related sanctions."
She added: "We continue to stand with Ukraine and its people. At the same time, we continue working closely with member states to ensure that national support measures can be put in place in a timely, coordinated and effective way, while protecting the level playing field in the single market.”
The European Commission said that the aid would take the form of direct grants."
The measure "will be open to farmers active in Poland affected by the increase of fertilizers costs caused by the current geopolitical crisis and the related sanctions," it added.
According to the European Commission's statement, "eligible beneficiaries will be entitled to receive aid up to EUR 107 (PLN 500) per hectare of agricultural land and up to EUR 53.50 (PLN 250) per hectare of grassland and pasture. The aid will be capped at the amount corresponding to 50 hectares."
(gs)
Source: PAP, europa.eu