A report published by the Court of Auditors on Thursday concluded that the support was not sufficiently targeted at the most affected sectors and farmers, while it was also noted that increasing state aid in some cases threatened to cause market distortions.
The Court of Auditors nevertheless finds that the EU responded quickly and effectively at the outbreak of the pandemic, when international food transport was halted due to reinstated customs controls. Brussels also reacted swiftly when harvests could not be gathered due to a lack of (foreign) seasonal workers.
The financial investigators of the European Parliament conclude that the entire European food chain was affected by the corona pandemic, literally from farm to fork. During that period, the EU released more than 700 million euros from the agricultural fund. Two-thirds of this went to five countries: Poland, Romania, Greece, Spain, and France. These countries also added their own funds.
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According to the European Court of Auditors, farmers in several EU countries received excessive aid in some cases during the corona pandemic. These countries supported farmers regardless of whether they actually suffered losses, the Court states.
For example, grape growers in southern Spain's Andalusia received compensation three times higher than their losses. Moreover, the level of government support in individual EU countries varied greatly, which could lead to unfair competition.
Although the auditors acknowledge the EU's "quick" response to the pandemic, they also recommend that the European Commission establish clear rules to better align CAP measures with future crises. “Unfortunately, this was not a one-time event: the Russian war in Ukraine also posed a major challenge to the security of our food supply,” said Joëlle Elvinger, the ECA member who led the covid audit.