EU Still Waiting For Details Of Greek Farm Aid

The farmers want higher subsidies and tax rebates to compensate for the slump.

The European Commission said on Friday it needed more details from Greece on a planned 500 million euros ($654 million) of aid to farmers before making any decision about whether it complied with EU rules.

It can declare the payments illegal and ultimately insist they are paid back.

The Greek government offered the aid on products such as cotton and wheat to farmers on Thursday after they blockaded roads in protest at slumping commodity prices.

The farmers want higher subsidies and tax rebates to compensate for the slump.

"There is not enough information now to determine what it is. We are waiting for Greece to provide that information before taking a decision," Commission spokesman Michael Mann said.

"There have been contacts on an informal level between staff in (the Commission) and officials in the Greek agriculture ministry," he added.

The blockades, which have caused travel chaos across Greece and angered Bulgaria, have shaken a conservative government struggling to cope with the economic slump and recover from the worst riots in decades last month.

Greek Agriculture Minister Sotiris Hatzigakis defended the aid package on Thursday, saying it does not break EU state aid rules.

The minister is scheduled to meet EU Commission officials on Wednesday next week.