The European Commission has approved a €170 million Bulgarian State aid scheme to support farmers facing higher fuel and fertiliser prices linked to the Middle East crisis.
The support will be available to companies active in the farming sector and will run until 31 December 2026, the Commission said in a release on Friday.
Aid will be paid as direct grants, with a maximum of €50,000 per company, and will be calibrated to reflect increases in fuel and fertiliser costs.
The scheme was approved under the Middle East Crisis Temporary State Aid Framework — known as METSAF — which the Commission adopted on 29 April 2026 to allow EU countries to support parts of the economy affected by the crisis.
What is METSAF?
METSAF is a temporary set of EU rules that allows governments to give state support to some of the sectors the Commission described as most exposed — including agriculture, fishery, transport and energy-intensive industries — and it is due to remain in place until 31 December 2026.
The Commission said it assessed the Bulgarian measure under EU State aid rules and concluded it met the conditions set out under METSAF.
