EU Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski has sent a letter to Prime Minister Donald Tusk urging a public debate at the EU summit about broadening the ability to grant state aid to farmers beyond June 2024. The call follows the introduction of a temporary mechanism designed to cushion the sector after Russia escalated its aggression in Ukraine.
The Temporary State Aid Framework was launched in March 2022 in response to the economic toll of the war on Ukraine. It aimed to back economic actors most affected by the conflict, with farmers among the beneficiaries, ensuring a safety net as prices and markets shifted under wartime pressure.
A note from Wojciechowski, reviewed by the press service, highlights how 22 EU member states, with the Commission’s green light, have allocated roughly €10 billion in public support to farmers since May 2022. Poland accounted for the largest share, totaling around €4 billion. The letter notes that the European Commission has approved sixteen rounds of government aid over the past two years, including subsidies targeting fertilizer costs, grain markets, lending facilities, and fuel. The Commissioner stresses that these measures offer substantial relief to farmers grappling with higher energy costs, steeper fertilizer prices, stronger import competition from Ukraine, and volatility in grain prices.
What happens after the crisis framework?
The temporary crisis framework is set to expire in June 2024, and at present there are no plans to extend it from the Commission’s side, with member states not presenting new initiatives in this area. Wojciechowski argues that without continued support, farmers facing ongoing fallout from Russia’s war will lose access to essential relief tools. This concern is especially acute for Polish farmers, who have experienced pronounced effects from the conflict.
In the Commissioner’s view, extending the state aid framework would be prudent because trade liberalization with Ukraine will continue for another year, through June 2025. He argues that this liberalization places additional stress on farmers across the EU, and Poland in particular, requiring continued public support to stabilize farm incomes and supply chains.
Wojciechowski emphasizes that the issue is being raised within the Commission as part of its internal work, but he notes that Poland’s farmers have been among those most affected by the economic repercussions of the war and have benefited most from government aid so far. The message is clear: without a renewed safety net, farmers could struggle to maintain production, price stability, and regional market resilience.
— The remarks were conveyed to a broad audience through a press-facing briefing and are attributed to Wojciechowski in coverage from the regional press network and accompanying reports.
Source attribution is provided for the related media context, reflecting the ongoing reporting on EU agricultural policy responses to the Ukraine crisis.