Brussels, 13/10/2015 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission approved the 2016 programme for the promotion of EU agricultural products on Tuesday 13 October. The programme is worth a total of €111 million.
The goal of the largely export-oriented programme is to help European producers find new markets and to promote consumption of their products outside, and also inside, the EU. Of the €111 million envelope, €68 million will be for initiatives in third countries.
EU funding allocated to information and promotion campaigns should increase progressively from €61 million in 2013 (when the new rules were proposed) to €200 million in 2019.
Under the terms of the new rules, EU co-financing rates will be raised significantly, from 50% to 70-80% (and 85% for Greece and Cyprus). At the same time, national co-financing will disappear, thereby creating a level playing field. A considerable reduction in red tape in the approval procedure for projects will make it easier to apply.
The 2016 programme targets a selected list of third countries where there is the highest potential for growth in particular to the sectors, such as dairy and pigmeat, experiencing a particularly difficult market situation. Of the total envelope, €30 million has been specifically earmarked in the support package unveiled by Commissioner Hogan in early September to support promotion measures in these two sectors (see EUROPE 11383).
The Commission is planning a European promotion strategy to increase the number of programmes aimed at third countries and multi-country programmes (programmes represented by organisations from several member states) through a higher co-financing rate for these two categories. Provision is made for: - extending the range of products, particularly to processed agri-food products, such as, for example, bread, pasta or chocolate; - allowing the origin of products and their brands to be specified, within certain limits.
The relevant legal acts were published in the Official Journal on Tuesday. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)