Brussels, 25/05/2010 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 25 May, the European Commission authorised a Finnish temporary aid scheme which seeks to support farmers who are encountering difficulties as a result of the current economic crisis. The €22 million scheme will allow the Finnish authorities to grant aid, in the form of direct subsidies of up to €15,000 per farm, to farmers in all sub-sectors of primary agricultural production who are experiencing difficulty. To be eligible for the scheme, the farmers will have to demonstrate that they were not already in difficulty on 1 July 2008 (before the beginning of the crisis) and that the ratio between the amount of liabilities on 31 December 2009 and the average annual turnover in years 2007-2009 is at least 1.0. The scheme will run until 31 December 2010 and complements other crisis measures already put in place by the Finnish authorities in application of the Temporary Crisis Framework. The Commission approved the scheme because it meets all the conditions of the Temporary Crisis Framework for state aid. (F.G./transl.rt)