The caretaker government provided the full amount of the so-called “Ukrainian aid" to farmers. The funds for BGN 300 mln. will be paid by May 15. This became clear after the meeting of Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev with the representatives of the sector. The Vice Premier and Minister of Finance Lyudmila Petkova and the Minister of Agriculture and Food Georgi Tahov also took part in the conversation. "Whatever depends on the Council of Ministers will be done in order to meet the deadline," Prime Minister Glavchev was emphatic.
Today's meeting happens after it became clear that the commitments made to farmers by the previous government were not financially guaranteed. "Since farmers have been promised to get that aid although not included in the budget, it will be provided and the Ministry of Finance is making every effort to ensure the necessary resource," said Deputy Prime Minister Lyudmila Petkova. She explained that the majority of the expenditure would be made at the expense of restructuring under the plan-account of SFA. The rest will be provided through costs restructuring under the central budget. Deputy Prime Minister Petkova specifically emphasized that this will definitely not lead to a deficit increase.
The amount of nearly BGN 300 million is formed on the basis of the 52,000 applications submitted to the Agriculture Fund, Minister Takhov also stated. He noted that there is no talk of a second tranche now because there is still no legal basis for its implementation, namely - a decision of the European Commission to extend the temporary measure for the second half of the year.
The representatives of the farmers thanked Prime Minister Glavchev and the Cabinet for the meeting. They defined the talks as an act for good interaction with the sector. The constructive dialogue conducted with the Prime Minister and the members of the Council of Ministers at today's meeting was also confirmed by the broad representation of the branch.