Bulgaria fulfilled all its commitments made to the European Commission (EC) in the field of agriculture and therefore no safeguard clause could be imposed on it in the form of a 25-per-cent cut in farm subsidies.

Romania however remained under threat of such a cut if it does not cover certain criteria soon, the EC Representation in Bulgaria said on October 10, as quoted by mediapool.bg.

The danger for Bulgarian farmers was largely speculated in the local media after the most recent EU reports showed a certain delay in the structuring of the new Payment Agency, whose role would be to distribute the subsidies among farmers. Delays were also discovered in the area of veterinary control and the prevention of animal diseases.

EU Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel was quoted by mediapool.bg as saying that “Bulgaria has marked good progress and created the necessary system for administration and monitoring”. Some weaknesses remained but they were of minor significance, she said.
Agriculture Minister Nihat Kabil was quoted as saying that Bulgaria would receive its full subsidy of more than 250 million euro for 2007.
Bulgarian farmers are expected to receive the total amount of 1.974 billion euro by 2013 in the form of direct subsidies.

Meanwhile, Fischer Boel warned Romanian authorities for the possibility to have the safeguard clause imposed with the accompanying 25 per cent cut in the subsidies for 2007.

Romania "still has time to rectify the situation, but it is a matter of urgency and swift actions are needed," Fischer-Beol said, as quoted by Agence France Presse (AFP) on October 10.

Romania would need to install computer systems to store results of on-the-spot checks on farms and calculate amounts to be paid to farmers, AFP said.
The money that could be withheld was estimated at around 110 million euro.