The European Commission has adopted a proposal to provide nearly €50 million from the agricultural reserve to support fruit, nuts and vegetable producers in Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland and Romania, who have recently suffered significant damage from adverse weather events.
After approval by the Member States, the Commission's proposal allocates €7.4 million to Bulgaria, €4.2 million to Latvia, €1.1 million to Lithuania, €10.8 million to Hungary, €14.8 million to Poland and €11.5 million to Romania. Countries can top up this EU support by up to 200% with national funds.
In the six countries, late frosts, followed by hail or heavy rains, destroyed large parts of the fruit, vegetable, nut and seed harvest.
The EC press service recalls that in the spring of 2025, Bulgaria experienced unusual weather, which started with high temperatures in February, which caused fruit trees to bloom too early. The cold and frost that followed in March and April damaged many crops, especially almonds, apples, apricots, cherries, peaches, pears, prunes and walnuts.
For the emergency measure to be effective, it is important that beneficiaries receive the emergency financial support quickly. Payments under it must be made by 30 April 2026.
The agricultural reserve in the current Common Agricultural Policy (2023-2027) has €450 million available per year. For the next CAP (2028-2034), the Commission proposes to double the crisis reserve to support the resilience of European farmers and the agri-food sector against market disruptions.