On Tuesday 13 June in Sweden, the European Commissioner for Agriculture, Janusz Wojciechowski, announced an increase of the agricultural crisis reserve to €530 million for 2023, compared to the initial amount of €450 million.
Following the informal meeting of EU agriculture ministers in Stockholm, he announced that €330 million (plus €250 million) would be distributed to the 22 Member States that have not yet benefited from these funds. The €100 million already announced will benefit five EU countries close to Ukraine. The crisis reserve has already been mobilised to the tune of €56 million for three EU countries bordering Ukraine and €44 million for expenditure related to managing avian influenza.
“We are also preparing a decision to activate the remainder of the crisis reserve to the tune of €330 million for the 22 other Member States affected by climatic events and, more generally, by the consequences of the war in Ukraine, such as the rise in energy and input costs”, he said.
Janusz Wojciechowski indicated that decisions on the mobilisation of the crisis reserve (€100 million and €330 million) would be taken “next week” by the European Commission. The distribution of this envelope will be based on the proportional distribution of direct payments between the various countries, he added.
Sustainable transition. The current President of the Agriculture Council, Peter Kullgren, said that Tuesday’s debate among the European ministers had focused on the role that the agricultural and forestry sectors can play in the sustainable transition. The minister stressed the importance of the role of the bioeconomy and innovation in this context. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)