Subsidy

Macedonian farmers have threatened to bring their machinery, livestock and unsold goods to the streets of the capital, Skopje, and to the rest of the country, angry about government excuses that it cannot pay them some 100 million euros in overdue subsidies because of the current political gridlock.

Only one of the parties which do not enter Parliament - Vazrazhdane (Revival) has a result of over 1% (1.08%) and will receive a party subsidy according to data of the Central Election Commission at 98.50% processed protocols.

All the rest which received subsidies until now participate in coalitions and will have to part with real estate provided for them by the state as well.

Bulgarian farmers will demonstrate in the capital Sofia on Monday to vent their anger at new rules for the allocation of EU subsidies.

Under recently adopted changes to the subsidies mechanism, a farm needs at least 50 female sheep and 20 female goats to be eligible for funding.

Documents establishing the sheep and goats' pedigree will also be required.

Turkey will adopt a "new agricultural model" in a bid to increase agricultural yields by around 11 billion Turkish Liras ($3.7 billion), Food, Agriculture and Livestock Minister Faruk Çelik said in a televised interview on Sept. 21. 

The new investment incentives bill put up for public consultation on Thursday provides for stricter procedures on the concession of subsidies, as well as new categories of subsidized expenses, such as salary costs.

The government will not give up on offering subsidies - it is actually considering to raise them to attract more foreign investors, Aleksandar Vucic has said.

“We would like to be more competitive in attracting new investments,” Vucic said on Wednesday.

The 10th WTO Ministerial Conference, gathered in Nairobi since Tuesday, agreed on Sunday on a global trade deal that benefits developing countries in Africa and around the world by getting rid of trade distorting export subsidies in agriculture. As regards EU producers, they will for the first time see a level playing field in export competition, a key priority for EU negotiators.

Tesla Motors boss Elon Musk says his companies don?t need an estimated $4.9 billion in government support they receive, but justified the aid in the cause of creating clean energy.

The billionaire eco-entrepreneur added that the amount was a ?pittance? compared to what the oil and gas industries receive.

Almost 121,000 Greeks applied for meal vouchers, free electricity and rent subsidies in the first two weeks of a new program introduced by the government to tackle what it calls the ?humanitarian crisis? in Greece.

According to the Labor Ministry, a total of 120,726 people have submitted applications since the scheme was launched.

Bulgaria may lose a part of a total of over EUR 1.3 B in EU subsidies for agriculture paid by the state due to yet another delay in the selection of an external auditor.

The current situation seems to be a repeat of the last-minute selection of Deloitte Bulgaria as a certifying authority for the EU subsidies for agriculture paid in the period October 2013 - October 2014.