14/06/2023 (Agence Europe) – On Wednesday 14 April, the European Commission announced that it had approved a Bulgarian public aid scheme worth around €8 million (16 million Bulgarian leva or BGN) designed to support entrepreneurs in the primary agricultural production sector whose cash flow is being affected by the rising cost of water. The aid will be available in the form of direct grants not exceeding €250,000 per beneficiary and will be awarded no later than 31 December 2023. The European Commission took the view that the aid scheme, notified in the context of Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine, complied with European rules on State aid, and more specifically with the Temporary Framework for State Aid (see EUROPE 13138/1) and Article 107(3)(b) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. (EV)