The European Commission has approved 22 programmes to promote agricultural products in the European Union and in third countries.
The total budget of the programmes, the large majority of which will run for a period of three years, is € 71,94 million, of which the EU contributes € 35,97 million.
The selected programmes cover olive oil, milk and milk products, meat, fresh and processed fruit and vegetables, organic products, eggs, wines and spirits and horticultural products, as well as quality products registered and protected as PDOs (Protected Designations of Origin), PGIs (Protected Geographical Indications) and TSGs (Traditional Speciality Guaranteed).
By 30 November 2012, within the information and promotion scheme, the Commission services received 36 programme proposals targeting both the EU's internal market and third countries as part of the first wave of the programme in 2013.
After evaluation, 22 programme proposals were retained for co-financing, out of which 16 target the internal market and 6 target third countries. Two of the selected programmes were proposed by more than one Member State.
The third countries/regions targeted are: Russia, China, North America, South-East Asia, Norway, Switzerland, Ukraine, India and South-Korea.
The full list of programmes and budgets adopted today is available in the annex.
Background
In 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 single market and in third countries. The total annual budget available for these promotion programmes is around €55 million.
The measures financed can consist of public relations, promotional or publicity campaigns, in particular highlighting the advantages of EU products, especially in terms of quality, food safety and hygiene, nutrition, labelling, animal welfare or environmentally-friendly production methods. These 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 specialities guaranteed (TSG), information on EU quality and labelling systems and organic farming, and information campaigns on the EU system of quality wines produced in specified regions (QWPSR).
The EU finances up to 50% of the cost of these measures (up to 60% in programmes promoting the consumption of fruit and vegetables by children or concerning information on responsible drinking and the dangers of excessive alcohol consumption), the reminder being met by the professional/inter-branch organisations which proposed them and in some cases also by the Member States concerned.
For promotion on the single market and in third countries, interested professional organisations can submit their proposals to the Member States twice a year.
The Member States then send the list of programmes they have selected to the Commission along with a copy of each programme. Subsequently the Commission evaluates the programmes and decides whether they are eligible.
