20/06/2022 (Agence Europe) – On Monday 20 June, the European Commission approved, under EU state aid rules, a €500 million Romanian scheme made available through the Recovery and Resilience Facility to support the growth of new forest areas. This measure is part of Romania’s strategy to ensure the protection of forests and biodiversity. The scheme will run until 30 June 2026. The support will take the form of direct grants to private and public owners of land suitable for afforestation, including municipalities, as well as their associations. In order to benefit from the aid, agricultural land owners must establish forest areas of at least 0.5 ha, or forest belts (rows of trees and shrubs to protect agricultural land from wind erosion and drought) of at least 0.1 ha. (LC)