On 20 April, EU Member States and the European Parliament agreed to transfer €350 million (of the €497 million available) from the agricultural crisis reserve to finance the €500 million emergency aid in the context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Countries have until the end of June to notify the European Commission of how they will spend the money (see EUROPE 12921/5).
This €500 million aid is divided into national envelopes (€89 million for France, €64 million for Spain, €45 million for Poland, etc.). It may be co-financed by additional support from the countries up to a maximum of 200%, bringing the total possible amount to €1.5 billion. Member States have flexibility in the use of these funds depending on the sector, provided that they do not distort competition.
This is the first time since its creation in 2014 that this crisis reserve has been activated. A Commission representative presented the details of the scheme to the European Parliament’s Agriculture Committee on 21 April. “Why only 350 million and not the entire 497 million reserve? Because the fiscal rules oblige us to first consider solutions within the margins of the agricultural budget”, he said. 150 million could therefore be found. “But the budget for the end of the year (which ends in mid-October) is going to be very tight”, he warned (the Commission also has to finance private storage aid for pig meat).
In order to build up the new crisis reserve in 2023, the Commission is required to first analyse the appropriations available in the margins and then, if necessary, decide to use the remaining funds from the 2022 reserve (€147 million). As a last resort, it can apply ‘financial discipline’ (reducing direct aid), as it has done in recent years. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)