Commission approves €132.3 million Polish State aid scheme to support cereal and oilseeds producers in the context of Russia’s war against Ukraine

The European Commission has approved an approximately €132.3 million (PLN 610 million) Polish scheme to support the cereal and oilseeds production sectors in the context of Russia’s war against Ukraine. The scheme was approved under the State aid Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework, adopted by the Commission on 9 March 2023 to support measures in sectors which are key to accelerate the green transition and reduce fuel dependencies. The new Framework amends and prolongs in part the Temporary Crisis Framework, adopted on 23 March 2022 to enable Member States to support the economy in the context of the current geopolitical crisis, already amended on 20 July 2022 and on 28 October 2022.

Under the scheme, the aid will consist in limited amounts of aid in the form of direct grants. The scheme will be open to cereal and oilseed producers that fulfil the criteria established under the emergency measures Poland implemented to support these sectors in accordance with the provisions of EU Regulations 2023/739 and 2023/1343 but that, due to the exceeding number of applications submitted, could not receive aid.

The Commission found that the Polish scheme is in line with the conditions set out in the Temporary Crisis Framework. In particular, the aid (i) will not exceed €250,000 per beneficiary; and (ii) 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 and Transition Framework. On this basis, the Commission approved the scheme under EU State aid rules.