Brussels, 20/04/2011 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 20 April, a scheme was approved by the European Commission to grant Romanian farmers aid of up to €15,000.
This scheme has a budget of 1.3 billion RON (approximately € 304 million) and aims at supporting farmers in Romania who encounter difficulties as a result of the economic crisis. Aid under this scheme can be granted until 31 December 2011. The 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, adopted in December 2010.
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 2011 and provides aid in the form of direct grants, up to € 15,000 per farmer, calculated on the basis of technical parameters (amount per hectare and livestock unit). The Romanian scheme meets all the conditions of the temporary crisis framework. In particular, the Romanian authorities demonstrated that it is necessary, proportional and appropriate to remedy a serious disturbance in the economy. Under the temporary crisis framework the Commission already authorised in February a Romanian subsidised loan scheme for farmers with a budget of RON 120 million (around € 30 million). (L.C./transl.fl)