Fuel aid: Brussels validates French state aid for fishermen

A green light from Brussels. The European Commission on Friday validated French state aid of 13 million euros to support fishermen affected by the surge in fuel prices.

This public support for the fishing sector represents 20 euro cents per liter of fuel in April and 35 cents per liter in May. This temporary measure is “necessary, appropriate and proportionate”, judged Brussels, which was to verify compliance with competition rules within the EU. It is not likely “to distort the conditions of competition in a manner contrary to the common interest”, according to the European Commission.

At the end of April, the European executive adopted a more flexible framework in terms of state aid in order to allow the Twenty-Seven to support their economies in the face of the impacts of the war in the Middle East. The European system, in force until the end of the year, concerns the most affected sectors such as agriculture, fishing, transport and energy-intensive industries. Since the end of February, the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz has caused a surge in the prices of oil, gas and fertilizers.

Aid for fishermen extended

For France, Sébastien Lecornu announced Thursday that support measures for fishermen but also farmers, road hauliers and the construction sector would be continued for the three summer months.

While the price of a barrel of oil is not falling, almost three months after the start of the war, the government has increased the aid put in place in recent weeks to relieve the French wallets.

Announced at the beginning of May at 50 euros, the “long-distance riders” bonus finally increased to 100 euros. Several sectors will also see the reimbursement of their mileage costs increased by 20 cents and the fuel premium for businesses will be relaxed. The Prime Minister also announced new aid for the acquisition of electric vehicles.

The total cost of all of these additional measures was estimated at 710 million euros by the executive.