The Fund is, however, much lower than the losses claimed by the sector. States shall submit this Tuesday their estimates of damages. In addition to Spain, France, Netherlands and Belgium have seen their sales fall. European Union Agriculture Ministers will study this Tuesday at an extraordinary meeting in Luxembourg the creation of a special fund to compensate for the European fruit and vegetable sector, for losses suffered as a result of the crisis of the e. coli bacteria, whose origin was initially blamed by the German authorities to a few batches of cucumbers from Spain. The hypothesis that will shuffle is the create a special fund for a special situation in the image of special aid given to milk producers in 2009 or for those affected by the crisis of dioxins in Ireland in 2008, as they have advance community sources, which have not given details on the amount with which you could provide to the Fund. Expected Member States to submit their estimates of damage and that the debate focuses on how and how much I could help, have targeted other European sources.
The Commissioner for agriculture Dacian Ciolos, warned last week that the instruments available to the EU for support to farmers in this crisis are limited, but undertook to examine all legal options to raise more solutions beyond those provided for by the agricultural common policy (PAC) – to remove part of the production of the market, up to a maximum of 5% of the volume total – and public subsidies. In the case of the PAC supports the problem is that the management of these aid generally depends on agricultural organizations (which in Spain bring together 32% of farmers), that would let outside producers independent. They are also subsidies co-financed at 50% between Brussels and the Member States. Regarding public subsidies, the EU sets a limit of 7,500 euros in three years as a maximum for subsidies that do not require prior notification to Brussels.