The European Commission will allocate 56 million euros to Romania, Bulgaria, and Poland, Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski told reporters in Brussels.
«This is support for countries whose farmers have suffered from increased imports from Ukraine. We are seeing an increase in supplies, a huge increase in imports for the border countries,» he said.
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Bulgaria and Poland were added because the combination of their own production and imports from Ukraine exceeded the five-year average before Russia's war in Ukraine. Romania was added because of its hub position for the so-called «solidarity lanes,» the commissioner said.
Romania will receive € 10 million, Bulgaria about € 17 million, and Poland € 30 million. This amount can be doubled by co-financing from the budgets of member states.
Hungary and Slovakia also received more of the Ukrainian harvest. But they will not receive support from the fund because their combined production and imports do not exceed the five-year average, Wojciechowski said.
Last week, grain producers from Bulgaria announced the start of an indefinite protest against duty-free grain imports from Ukraine to the EU.
In January, the European Commission stated that it is not considering the option of reintroducing the previously canceled duties on Ukrainian agricultural products despite the negative impact on farmers in some countries.
PigUA.info by bizagro.com.ua