EC approves €24m food producer promotion scheme
programme for the promotion of agricultural products within the
Union.
Under a Council Regulation on information and promotion actions for agricultural products on the EU internal market, 11 Member States submitted 34 programme proposals. The Commission selected 20 programmes in those Member States (Belgium, Germany, Greece, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden and the United Kingdom) as eligible to receive financing.
The programmes cover organic products, olive oil, milk, meat, eggs, wine, fruit, flowers, mushrooms and potatoes. The total budget of the programmes running between one and three years is € 48.2 million; the EU contribution to the programmes is € 24.1 million or 50 per cent of the total.
The approved programmes are the second series for the year 2004. A first series has been approved in June 2004. The annual EU budget available for promotion programmes in the agriculture sector is € 48.5 million.
On 19 December 2000 the Council decided that the EU could assist in financing measures that provide information on, or promote agricultural products and food on the EU Internal market. These measures can consist of public relations, promotional or publicity actions, in particular highlighting the advantages of EU products, especially in terms of quality, hygiene, food safety, nutrition, labelling, animal welfare or environment-friendliness of their production.
The measures can also cover participation at events and fairs, information campaigns on the EU system of protected designations of origin (PDO), protected geographical indications (PGI) and traditional speciality guaranteed (TSG), information on EU quality and labelling systems and organic farming.
Information campaigns on the EU system of quality wines produced in specified regions (QWPSR) are also amongst the possibilities. The EU finances 50 per cent of the cost of these measures, the remainder being met by the professional/inter-branch organisations which proposed them and/or by the Member States concerned.
Consequently, detailed rules for applying the promotion and information measures were laid down by a Commission Regulation in January 2002. This regulation lists the themes and products that can be covered by the promotion measures.
Each year, on 31 January and on 31 July, interested professional organisations can submit their proposals to the Member States. These then have to send the Commission the list of programmes and implementing bodies they have selected and a copy of each programme. Subsequently the Commission evaluates the programmes and decides on its eligibility.
