EU: Green light in Greece to support the livestock sector with 50 million euros

THE European Commission approves € 50 million Greek scheme to support livestock sector in the framework of Russian invasion of Ukraine. The scheme was adopted on the basis of the Interim State Aid Crisis Framework, adopted by the Commission on 23 March 2022, pursuant to Article 107 (3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), acknowledging that the EU economy is in serious turmoil. .

The Executive Vice President, Margaret Westeyerresponsible for competition policy, stated: “This € 50 million scheme will allow Greece to support farmers affected by rising input costs due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and related sanctions. We continue to support Ukraine and its people. At the same time, we continue to work closely with the Member States to ensure that national support measures can be implemented in a timely, coordinated and effective manner, while protecting a level playing field in the single market.»

The Greek measure

Greece has notified the Commission, under the provisional crisis framework, of a € 50 million scheme to support the livestock sector in the context of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Under this measure, the aid will take the form of direct grants.

The measure will be addressed to companies active in the livestock sector and are affected by rising input costs due to the current geopolitical crisis.

Eligible beneficiaries will be able to receive amount of aid equal to:

(i) 2% of turnover for VAT purposes in 2021 or

(2) 2% of their gross income in 2020, depending on whether or not they were subject to VAT in 2021.

The Commission found that the Greek regime complied with the conditions laid down in the provisional crisis framework. In particular, the aid will not exceed EUR 35,000 per beneficiary and will be granted no later than 31 December 2022.

The Commission has concluded that the Greek regime is necessary, appropriate and proportionate to remove a serious disturbance in the economy of a Member State, in accordance with Article 107 (3) TFEU and the conditions laid down in the provisional crisis framework.

On this basis, the Commission approved the aid measure under EU State Aid Rules.

Record

On 23 March 2022, the European Commission approved the Interim State Aid Crisis Framework so that Member States could make use of the flexibility provided by the State Aid Rules to support the economy in the context of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Interim Crisis Framework provides that Member States may grant the following types of aid:

• Limited aid amountsin any form, up to 35,000 euros for crisis-affected companies operating in agriculture, fisheries and aquaculture and up to EUR 400,000 per crisis-hit enterprise in all other sectors
• Liquidity support in the form government guarantees and subsidized loans and
• Aid to compensate for high energy prices. The aid, which can be granted in any form, will partially compensate companies, especially the most energy-intensive ones, for the additional costs due to the extraordinary increases in gas and electricity prices. The total aid per beneficiary may not exceed 30% of the eligible costs, with a maximum of EUR 2 million at a given time. When the business suffers a loss, further support may be needed to ensure that a business continues to operate. Therefore, for energy-intensive users, aid intensities are higher and Member States may grant aid in excess of these ceilings, up to EUR 25 million, and for companies operating in sectors and sub-sectors which are particularly affected, up to EUR 50 million.

Entities controlled by Russia subject to sanctions will be excluded from the scope of these measures.

Elena Papadimitriou

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