Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/739 of 4 April 2023 providing for an emergency support measure for the cereal and oilseed sectors in Bulgaria, Poland and Romania

1 Union aid of a total amount of EUR 56300000 shall be available to Bulgaria, Poland and Romania, to provide exceptional support to farmers producing cereals and oilseeds referred to in the Annex subject to the conditions set out in this Regulation.

2 Bulgaria, Poland and Romania shall use the amounts referred to in Article 2 for measures aiming to compensate farmers for the economic loss due to increased imports of cereals and oilseeds from Ukraine in the affected regions.

3 The measures shall be taken on the basis of objective and non-discriminatory criteria that take account the economic losses borne by the affected farmers and ensure that the resulting payments do not cause any market or competition distortion.

4 Expenditure borne by Bulgaria, Poland and Romania in relation to the payments for the measures referred to in paragraph 2 shall only be eligible for Union aid if those payments have been made by 30 September 2023.

5 For the purposes of Article 30(3) of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/127, the operative event for the exchange rate as regards the amounts set out in Article 2(1) shall be the date of entry into force of this Regulation.

6 Measures under this Regulation may be cumulated with other support financed by the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development.

1 The Union expenditure incurred in accordance with Article 1 shall not exceed a total amount of: (a) EUR 16750000 for Bulgaria; (b) EUR 29500000 for Poland; (c) EUR 10050000 for Romania.

2 Bulgaria, Poland and Romania may grant additional national aid for the measures taken under Article 1 up to a maximum of 100 % of the corresponding amount set out in paragraph 1 of this Article, on the basis of objective and non-discriminatory criteria, provided that the resulting payments do not cause any market or competition distortion.

3 Bulgaria, Poland and Romania shall pay the additional support referred to in paragraph 2 by 30 September 2023.

1 Without delay and no later than 30 June 2023, Bulgaria, Poland and Romania shall notify the Commission of the following: (a) a description of the measures to be taken; (b) the criteria used to determine the methods for granting the aid and the rationale for distributing the aid across farmers; (c) the intended impact of the measures in view of compensating farmers from economic loss caused by imports of cereals and oilseeds from Ukraine; (d) the actions taken to check that the intended impact of the measures is reached; (e) the actions taken to avoid distortion of competition; (f) the forecast for payments of the Union expenditure broken-down per month until 30 September 2023; (g) the level of additional support granted pursuant to Article 2 paragraph 2.

2 No later than 15 May 2024, Bulgaria, Poland and Romania shall notify the Commission of the total amounts paid per measure, when applicable, broken down by Union aid and additional national aid, the number and type of beneficiaries and the assessment of the effectiveness of the measure.

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.