EU / Bulgaria — SA.124701: EUR 170 Million METSAF Aid for Farmers Facing Fuel/Fertiliser Cost Increases

Severity basis

Quant: EUR 170 million total scheme budget, EUR 50,000 per-beneficiary cap, running to 31 December 2026. None of the three structured magnitude: sub-fields (tariff_pct, quota_volume, coverage_share) fit a fixed-budget grant scheme, so the figures are anchored here rather than in a magnitude: block — omitting one would misrepresent a budget cap as a rate or coverage share.

Mechanism

METSAF (the Middle East Crisis Temporary State Aid Framework), adopted by the Commission on 29 April 2026, gives member states a fast-track legal basis under Article 107(3)(c) TFEU to compensate sectors hit by the cost shock from the Middle East crisis — chiefly higher fuel and fertiliser input prices passed through from the crisis-driven energy spike. Bulgaria's SA.124701 scheme is one of several national notifications under this framework already in this register (Portugal's SA.124487 agri/fishery scheme, Romania's SA.124647 cattle-farmer scheme).

The Bulgarian scheme covers primary agricultural production generally, paid as direct grants capped at EUR 50,000 per company, and sunsets 31 December 2026. The Management Board of Bulgaria's implementing body must still set disbursement guidelines before payments go out.

Downstream implications

• Fourth-plus METSAF national scheme filed in this register — the framework

is being drawn down member-state by member-state rather than as a single EU-wide instrument; expect further national notifications before the 31 Dec 2026 framework sunset.

• No individual company_refs — this is a broad-based sectoral grant, not an

exposure to a named firm.

Open questions

• Whether Bulgaria's implementing guidelines (Management Board of the

national disbursing body) add sector sub-caps beyond the EUR 50,000 per-undertaking ceiling.