Promotion of EU agricultural products outside the EU

IP/10/1682

Brussels, 8 December 2010

Promotion of EU agricultural products outside the EU

The European Commission has approved measures to provide information on, and to promote agricultural products in third countries. Member States submitted 24 programmes to the Commission to be examined. The 7 programmes that have been accepted are from Greece, Italy, Poland and Portugal. The products covered are PGI and PDO, wine, fruit and vegetables, meat, spirits and olive oil. The EU contribution is € 10.9 million (50% of the total budget of the programmes).

"EU promotion schemes are a good way of increasing the visibility of EU products on markets outside the EU and underlining the quality and traditions behind them,” said Dacian Cioloş, Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development. “As we announced in our recent report on promotion, the current information and promotion policy will be reviewed in parallel with the discussion on the CAP reform after 2013. The promotion instruments should provide EU producers with an effective tool, whilst attempting at the same time to reduce the administrative burden."

Background

The EU can fund (to a maximum of 50%) measures in third countries that provide information on, or promote, agricultural and food products. These measures can be public relations, promotional or publicity measures, in particular highlighting the advantages of EU products, especially in terms of quality, hygiene, food safety, nutrition, labelling, animal welfare or environment-friendliness. These measures can amongst others also cover participation at events and fairs, information campaigns on the EU system of protected designations of origin (PDOs), protected geographical indications (PGIs) and traditional speciality guaranteed (TSGs) and organic farming. Also possible are information campaigns on the EU system of quality wines produced in specified regions (QWPSR) and studies of new markets.

Detailed rules for applying the promotion and information measures are laid down by a Commission Regulation¹. Not later than 30 June each year Member States have to send to the Commission the list of programmes they have selected and a copy of each programme. Subsequently the Commission evaluates the programmes and decides on their eligibility. The Commission Regulation also lists the third-country markets where promotion measures can be carried out and the products which can be covered by these promotion measures.

Annex: Accepted information and promotion programmes - series 2010

ANNEX

¹ :

Regulation (EC) No 501/2008 of 5 June 2008