On Wednesday 22 March, MEPs on the European Parliament Agriculture Committee called for more EU funding for school fruit and vegetable schemes.
The own-initiative report by Carmen Avram (S&D, Romanian) on this dossier was adopted with 42 votes in favour, 2 against and no abstentions.
MEPs also want to cut red tape, give schools longer contracts and simplify procurement procedures.
MEPs on the European Parliament Agriculture Committee say that at least 10% of the funds allocated each year by the EU and national aid combined should be used for educational measures to raise awareness of the nutritional value of food.
Fruit, vegetables and dairy products distributed in EU schools should be unprocessed, organic, locally produced and have quality labels, say MEPs.
Given that there are large differences between Member States in the implementation of the scheme, MEPs suggest that the Commission and EU countries assess national performance, in order to better prepare the next revision of the school scheme.
The vote in the European Parliament plenary will take place in April or May. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)