The European Commission has granted approval for a €150 million scheme aimed at compensating businesses affected by avian influenza (bird flu) in France.
The scheme targets businesses that are “downstream” from the poultry sector.
These include slaughtering and processing companies; egg packing centres; and specialised service companies involved in transport, cleaning, animal feed, and processing.
Support under the scheme will take the form of a direct grant, which will be open to businesses active in the poultry industry and that have been directly impacted by the disease.
The scheme will be in place by December 31, 2024.
In reviewing the planned scheme, the commission concluded that it was necessary, appropriate and proportionate to address the disruption to the poultry sector in France caused by bird flu.
However, the commission also concluded that the amount of aid that can be paid will be limited to the minimum amount necessary to compensate for the additional costs incurred in remedying damage caused by bird flu for those businesses and companies that are eligible for funding.
The commission said it was satisfied that the scheme would keep distortion of competition in the EU internal market to a minimum.
On that basis, it was decided the scheme is in line with state aid rules.
French sugar beet farmers are also in line to receive financial aid, following a tractor protest in Paris last week.
The protest was in response to a decision by the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) in January which overturned a derogation given by the French government to beet growers allowing them to use seeds treated with neonicotinoids.
According to French farming organisations, some 800 tractors and as many as 4,000 farmers descended on the capital last Wednesday (February 8), where they gathered at Les Invalides, one of France’s most recognisable landmarks.
Following the protest, the French Ministry of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty announced the deployment of an action plan to support beet growers.
As part of the plan, an aid programme will be established for growers in the event of yield losses from beet diseases related to the lack of neonicotinoids.