"I will propose 150 million euros today," Dacian Ciolos, the European agriculture minister, said after an emergency meeting in Luxembourg on Tuesday, but added that the figure was just a starting point for discussion.
Spain has already estimated that it has lost $256m in exports amongst its growers, while Freshful, an EU-wide fresh produce association, said the country could be losing $292m a week.
Farmers in the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, France and Portugal have also been affected.
Ciolos said it was crucial for authorities in Germany, the epicentre of the crisis, to find the source of the outbreak, which has killed 25 people and left more than 2,000 ill.
"I hope that the authorities will be able to give an answer on the source of the infection as quickly as possible," he said.
"Without this answer, it will be difficult to regain the trust of consumers, which is essential for the market to regain its strength."
Scientists and health authorities have been struggling to determine the source of the outbreak, with initial tests on organic bean sprouts, thought to believed to be behind the bacteria, turning up negative.
But German scientists said the vegetables have not been ruled out, as contaminated produce could have long since been distributed.
"This is an important lead that we're vigorously pursuing," Ilse Aigner, Germany's federal agriculture minister, said in Berlin on Monday, after 23 samples tested at the farm had come out negative.
She repeated warnings to consumers to avoid eating bean sprouts, cucumbers, tomatoes and salad.
Andreas Hensel, the head of the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, admitted that "it is possible we shall never be able to identify the source" of the contamination
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