UK will receive €36.1m emergency aid
The UK has been awarded €36.1 million in emergency farm funding, the European Commission has announced.
It is part of a €500m support package to help European farmers cope with current cash-flow problems. The commission also aims to help stabilise the markets and address the functioning of the supply chain.
The UK has received the third largest allocation of funds in the whole of Europe.
Responding to the news, Scotland's rural affairs secretary Richard Lochhead has called for an urgent meeting to discuss how the funding should be distributed within the UK.
Scottish farmers are suffering from the impact of very poor weather conditions earlier this year, as well as volatile markets, Mr Lochhead explained.
"In this time of need, it is imperative that Scotland's farmers get a fair share of the EU's emergency funding."
Recent UK negotiations, he added, have left Scottish farmers with the lowest Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) payment rates in Europe.
"Scottish farmers are paying the price for this injustice and the UK Government should urgently put right this wrong. A first step should be to ensure that Scotland gets a fair share of this new EU agriculture aid and I will be writing to the Defra secretary of state requesting and urgent meeting to discuss this very matter."