The European Commission has approved a €500 million Italian scheme to support farmers affected by floods and landslides in the Emilia-Romagna region in September 2024.
The scheme is open to companies of all sizes involved in primary agricultural production, as well as the processing and marketing of agricultural products, the Commission reported in a release on Monday.
Aid will be paid as direct grants and can cover up to 100% of the costs of investments to restore production capacity to its pre-disaster level, it said. Grants can also cover up to 100% of damage suffered directly because of the floods and landslides, including material damage to assets such as buildings and equipment, lost income, and additional costs linked to the natural disaster.
The scheme will run until 17 September 2028.
How the Commission assessed the support
The Commission said it assessed the compensation element under EU rules that allow member states to grant aid to make good damage caused by natural disasters or exceptional occurrences.
It added that the floods and landslides were classified as a natural disaster and that the scheme is designed to compensate only for damage effectively caused by the events, with a mechanism intended to prevent overcompensation.
The investment part of the scheme was assessed under separate EU provisions that allow support for the development of certain economic activities under conditions, alongside EU guidelines for state aid in agriculture, forestry and rural areas.
A non-confidential version of the decision will be published under the case number SA.122427 in the Commission’s state aid register once confidentiality issues have been resolved.
