The European Commission has approved a €167 million Italian scheme to support the primary agricultural production sector in the context of Russia’s war against Ukraine.
The scheme was approved under the State aid Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework (TCTF).
Under the scheme, the aid will consist of limited amounts in the form of social contributions reductions.
The measure will be open to the employers in the primary agricultural production sector in some territories of the regions of Emilia-Romagna, Marche and Tuscany affected by the floods of May 2023 and that are already at risk of losing financial liquidity due to the difficulties in the agricultural market provoked by Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Italian aid
The commission found that the Italian scheme is in line with the conditions set out in the TCTF.
In particular, the aid will not exceed €280,000 per beneficiary and will be granted no later than December 31, 2024.
The commission concluded that the scheme is necessary, appropriate and proportionate to remedy a serious disturbance in the economy of a member state.
Agricultural aid
Just last week, the European Commission adopted an amendment of regulations for the agricultural sector across the EU.
The regulation exempts small amounts of support in the agricultural sector from state aid control since they are deemed to have no impact on competition and trade in the single market.
The revised regulation will enter into force three days after its publication in the Official Journal and will apply until December31, 2032.
Under the current Agricultural ‘de minimis‘ Regulation, member states can grant support to the agricultural sector of up to €20,000 per beneficiary (€25,000, if the member state has a central register to register de minimis aid) over a period of three fiscal years without prior notification for commission approval.
Besides these ceilings per beneficiary, each EU member state has a maximum national amount for such support (a so-called ‘national cap’), in order to avoid any potential distortion of competition.