Brussels, 15/02/2010 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 15 February, the European Commission authorised a €2.73 million Belgian scheme which seeks to support farmers in Flanders who encounter difficulties as a result of the current economic crisis. Aid under this scheme can be granted until 31 December 2010 and will take the form of interest subsidies and guarantees. This scheme is a further application of the Commission's temporary framework for state aid measures to support access to finance in the current financial and economic crisis, as amended at the end of October 2009 to allow member states to grant limited amounts of aid to primary agricultural producers.
The scheme is open to farmers in all sub-sectors of primary agricultural production, provided they were not already in difficulty on 1 July 2008 (i.e. before the beginning of the crisis). It is limited in time until 31 December 2010 and complements other crisis measures already put in place by the Flemish authorities in application of the Temporary Crisis Framework. The scheme provides aid in the form of subsidised guarantees and interest subsidies. It will be granted through the VLIF (Vlaams Landbouwinvesteringsfonds).
The Commission points out in a press release that the new Flemish scheme meets all the conditions of the temporary crisis framework as amended. In particular, “the Belgian authorities demonstrated that it is necessary, proportional and appropriate to remedy a serious disturbance in the economy”. The Commission decided, therefore, that the scheme can be approved under Article 107(3)(b) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. (O.L./transl.rt)