In December, the European Commission will be announcing proposals to raise with retroactive effect the de minimis levels for state aid deemed compatible with competition rules in order to ease the pressure on farms affected by the drought that hit Europe in the summer, said Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan in Austria on Tuesday 25 September.
The Commission has already granted derogations to some greening requirements for aid in order to respond to the problems facing the farmers in question (see EUROPE 12099).
De minimis aid (regulation 1408/2013 on the CAP) is capped at €15,000 a year per company.
The Commissioner said 17 member states would be able to grant early payment from 16 October (option of early payment of up to 70% for direct support and 85% for rural development). The impact of the drought will be discussed by the Agriculture Council on 15 October.
The European Commissioner added that no derogation requests had been sent to the Commission. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)