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The EU Commission has revealed further suport measures following the Russia ban on EU agricultural produce |
The European Commission has increased the Common Agricultural Policy promotion budget by ERU30m (US$38.9m) to try to further reduce the pressure on the bloc's agri-food sector in the wake of the Russian trade embargo.
The Commission grants annual provisions of EUR60m as part of the CAP budget ordinarily.
EU commissioner for agriculture and rural development Dacian Ciolos said: "Promotion programmes are one of the CAP instruments which can be used over the medium term to address the market difficulties expected in several sectors as a result of the Russian ban, helping producers to find new sales outlets within and outside the EU.
"Today's change means that EUR60m of EU funding is available for promotion projects submitted by the end of this month. As this is co-funded by the promotion organisations themselves, this means that schemes worth at least EUR120m could start running in 2015. I strongly encourage agricultural organisations to make the most of this opportunity and to present ambitious promotion schemes in the coming weeks," he added.
In the weeks since Russia announced the ban, the EU has announced support for fruit and veg growers and dairy farmers.
The Commission has today confirmed its intention to provide an additional €30 million of EU funding for CAP promotion programmes starting in 2015, on top of the €60 million that is foreseen annually in the CAP budget. As these schemes are co-funded, this change is likely to mean an additional 60 million EURO for promotion measures. Aimed at alleviating the impact of the Russian measures against certain EU agricultural products, this additional effort will start with the promotion programmes that need to be submitted by the end of September.
Confirming this step, EU Commissioner for Agriculture & Rural Development Dacian Ciolo? stated today: "Promotion programmes are one of the CAP instruments which can be used over the medium term to address the market difficulties expected in several sectors as a result of the Russian ban, helping producers to find new sales outlets within and outside the EU. Today's change means that €60 million of EU funding is available for promotion projects submitted by the end of this month. As this is co-funded by the promotion organisations themselves, this means that schemes worth at least €120 million could start running in 2015. I strongly encourage agricultural organisations to make the most of this opportunity and to present ambitious promotion schemes in the coming weeks".
This announcement comes in addition to the exceptional market support measures for peaches & nectarines (€33m) and other perishable fruit & vegetables (€125m) already adopted and the activation of private storage aid for butter, skimmed milk powder and cheese announced last week and due for adoption this week.
For more details about the measures taken since the Russian measures were introduced on August 7, seeIP/14/920, IP/14/932 and IP/14/954
Original source: European Commission
