The European Commission has secured the Member States’ agreement to mobilise €21.5 million from the agricultural reserve to support farmers in Bulgaria (€7.4 million), Estonia (€3.3 million) and Hungary (€10.8 million) affected by adverse climatic events in 2025, the Commission said on Monday 30 March.
In Bulgaria, drought and heat waves from June to August severely reduced sunflower and maize harvests. In Estonia, spring frosts and an unstable season affected wheat, barley, peas, rapeseed, potatoes and fruit and vegetables. In Hungary, the extreme heat and lack of water caused major heat stress for maize, sorghum, melons and sweetcorn.
National authorities must distribute this aid before 30 September 2026 and notify the Commission of the award criteria, payment forecasts and measures designed to avoid any distortion of competition. The aid may be topped up by up to 200% using national funds.
Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Christophe Hansen stressed that this allocation aims to protect farming families and strengthen the resilience of rural communities, while encouraging risk management and agricultural insurance in the face of increasingly frequent extreme weather events linked to climate change. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)