The European Commission will allocate €21.5 million in emergency support for farmers in three EU member states.

The Council of the EU (council of ministers) backed the commission's proposal to provide the funding from the agricultural reserve to support farmers in Bulgaria, Estonia and Hungary.

Those three countries will receive €7.4 million, €3.3 million and €10.8 million respectively, which can be topped up by up to 200% through national funding.

The commission said that, throughout 2025, farmers in Bulgaria, Estonia and Hungary witnessed significant damages and suffered economic losses due to adverse climatic events and natural disasters.

Bulgaria saw severe drought and heatwaves from mid-June to late August, which significantly reduced sunflower and maize production.

In Estonia, spring frost followed by a cold, wet and unstable growing season harmed crops such as spring wheat, barley, peas, rapeseed, potatoes, fruit and vegetables.

In Hungary, extreme heat and water shortages between June and August caused major heat stress, affecting crops including sweetcorn, melons, sorghum and maize.

National authorities in these three countries must distribute this aid by September 30 this year, and must ensure that farmers are the ultimate beneficiaries.

The three member states concerned will also have to notify the commission about the details of the measures they will implement to distribute the funding.

The notification to the commission must include the criteria used to determine the granting of individual aid; the intended impact of the measure; the forecasts for payments broken down per month; and the level of additional support to be provided.

The three member states should also inform the commission of the actions to be taken to avoid distortion of competition and overcompensation.

The payments are coming from the agricultural reserve under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) 2023-2027, which can allocate €450 million per year to deal with market disruptions or exceptional events affecting production or distribution.

Commenting on the funding, European Commissioner for Agriculture Christophe Hansen said: "When droughts trouble soil in Bulgaria and Hungary, or frost and rain crops in Estonia, it's not just fields that suffer.

"The commission stands by farmers' side in times of crisis. This is why we allocated €21.5 million to three countries as support to their agricultural community.

"Investing in risk management and insurance is essential to deal with more frequent extreme events induced by climate change. We must act now to build a future where extreme weather doesn't mean ruined harvests," Commissioner Hansen said.