In order to mitigate or eliminate the threat of serious imbalance in the cheese market created by the import ban introduced by the Russian government, Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 950/2014 provided for a temporary exceptional private storage aid scheme for cheeses for a maximum volume of 155 000 tonnes. To ensure the respect of that maximum quantity, a notification and monitoring mechanism was set up.

While the effects of the Russian import ban impact potentially the whole EU market for cheeses, the most affected Member States are Finland and the Baltic States for which Russia is the exclusive trading partner for cheese and Germany, the Netherlands and Poland, for which Russia is a significant destination for cheeses. Furthermore, while cheeses with a geographical indication are affected by the import ban, they only represent a minimum share of the whole range of cheese exported to Russia.

The notifications received so far in application of the monitoring mechanism of Article 12 of Delegated Regulation (EU) No 950/2014 show that the scheme is disproportionately used by producers of cheese from areas traditionally not exporting significant quantities to Russia. The scheme therefore does not seem adequate to react effectively and efficiently against the market disturbances that result from the Russian ban.

In light of the above and to ensure a sound use of the Union budget, it is appropriate to put an end to the private storage scheme for cheeses as provided for by Delegated Regulation (EU) No 950/2014.

In order to reduce the risk of an inefficient use of the Union budget, this measure needs to apply immediately.

In order to ensure that the expectations of operators having applied for the aid for private storage of cheeses under Article 4 of Delegated Regulation (EU) No 950/2014 are protected, applications lodged before the entry into force of this Regulation should be taken into account for the payment of the aid provided for by Delegated Regulation (EU) No 950/2014,