Brussels, 04/02/2016 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission opened the calls for proposals on Thursday 4 February for promotion campaigns for EU agricultural products.
These are the first calls published since new European rules on promotion came into force in December 2015. There is a call for proposals for campaigns proposed by one single country and another for programmes involving several countries.
Some €111 million is available for promotion under the EU budget in 2016. This funding is available to co-finance multi-annual projects aimed at helping European producers find new markets and promoting EU agricultural products both within the EU and on third country markets. Proposals may be submitted online directly to the Commission until 28 April 2016. An information session on calls for proposals for 2016, organised by the Commission, will take place on 26 February.
European Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan points out that, in the 2016 programmes, €30 million will be ring-fenced for the troubled milk and pigmeat sectors. He says he is optimistic that these measures “can boost our exports and thereby create jobs and growth in rural areas across Europe”. To further promote European products, Hogan will be making a series of visits to third countries. Next week, he will travel to Colombia and Mexico accompanied by a delegation of European producers. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)