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Agriculture and rural development
  • Press release
  • 12 January 2023
  • Brussels
  • Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development
  • 1 min read

State aid: Commission approves €40 million Croatian scheme to support companies processing agricultural products in the context of Russia's war against Ukraine

Croatian landscape of fields and mountains with the flags of Croatia and the EU

The European Commission has approved a €40 million Croatian scheme to support companies processing agricultural products in the context of Russia's war against Ukraine. The scheme was approved under the State aid Temporary Crisis Framework, adopted by the Commission on 23 March 2022 and amended on 20 July 2022 and on 28 October 2022, based on Article 107(3)(b) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (‘TFEU'), recognising that the EU economy is experiencing a serious disturbance.

Under the scheme, the aid will take the form of (i) limited amounts of aid in form of direct grants to compensate companies for the cost increase of energy sources other than natural gas and electricity; and (ii) direct grants for the additional costs incurred due to severe increases in natural gas and electricity prices. The purpose of the scheme is to mitigate the impact of the exceptionally severe increases of energy prices on companies processing agricultural products, which cannot be passed on to final consumers or with which they are unable to cope.

The Commission found that the Croatian scheme is in line with the conditions set out in the Temporary Crisis Framework. In particular, when it comes to limited amounts of aid, the aid will not exceed €2 million per company. As regards the aid for additional costs due to exceptional natural gas and electricity price increases, the overall aid per company will not exceed 50% of the eligible costs, up to a maximum of €4 million. Under both measures, the aid will be granted no later than 31 December 2023. The Commission concluded that the scheme is necessary, appropriate, and proportionate to remedy a serious disturbance in the economy of a Member State, in line with Article 107(3)(b) TFEU and the conditions set out in the Temporary Crisis Framework. On this basis, the Commission approved the scheme under EU State aid rules.

More information on the Temporary Crisis Framework and other actions taken by the Commission to address the economic impact of Russia’s war against Ukraine can be found here. The non-confidential version of the decision will be made available under the number SA.104708 in the State aid register on the Commission's competition website once any confidentiality issues have been resolved.

(For more information: Arianna Podesta – Tel.: +32 2 298 70 24; Nina Ferreira - Tel.: +32 2 29 9 81 63; Maria Tsoni – Tel.: +32 2 299 05 26)

Details

Publication date
12 January 2023
Author
Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development
Location
Brussels