Slovakia to Receive €5.24 million from EU Aid for Farmers from Five Countries

Brussels, May 3 (TASR-correspondent) - The European Commission on Tuesday (May 2) issued a temporary ban on imports of wheat, corn, rapeseed and sunflower seeds from Ukraine, and EU Commissioner for Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski specified on Wednesday that these measures will be supplemented with financial support amounting to €100 million for farmers from Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. Slovakia will be given €5.24 million. The Commission stated that this is a response to serious logistical problems that occurred in five member states, including Slovakia, in connection with the import of some agricultural commodities from Ukraine after the relaxation of customs barriers and the scrapping of quotas. "My priority has been to work on a common European solution that will support the farmers most affected by increased imports from Ukraine," Wojciechowski wrote on his Twitter account. The commissioner confirmed that the EU executive proposed to allocate €100 million to farmers in the member states in 'the first line' of exposure to imports from Ukraine. The Commission allocated €9.77 million for Bulgaria, Hungary will receive €15.93 million, Poland will be given €39.33 million, Romania €29.73 million, and Slovakia €5.24 million. The Commission stressed on Tuesday that the five countries have pledged themselves to scrap recently-adopted unilateral measures on wheat, corn, rapeseed and sunflower, but also on any other products originating from Ukraine. The measures took effect as of May 2 and will be valid until June 5. During this period, these commodities can be imported to all the EU countries except Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. Ukrainian products can still transit through their territories. am/mcs