On Tuesday, 9 May, the European Parliament called for additional funding for the school fruit, vegetables and milk scheme.
The report by Carmen Avram (S&D, Romanian) on this scheme was adopted (534 votes in favour, 57 against, and 23 abstentions) almost as is (see EUROPE 13147/13).
The fruit, vegetables, and dairy products provided in schools should be unprocessed; should not have added sugar, added fat, added salt, or added sweeteners; and should be organic and locally produced. The European Parliament is also calling on Member States to ensure that at least 10% of the funding allocated to the scheme each year is earmarked for educational measures.
During the debate, Ms Carmen Avram defended an increase in the budget allocated to the scheme. “Inflation has made the Commission’s proposed sum of €1.3 billion over 6 years quite simply unrealistic”, she asserted. She also advised “do[ing] away with” the ‘lowest price’ criterion when awarding contracts. “This is a very harmful principle because children need fresh, quality food and local producers [...] need an incentive in order to participate”, she noted.
The European Commission will present a proposal on this scheme at the end of 2023. The European Commission stated that it is “reviewing the current scheme to increase its impact on sustainable food and strengthen educational message[s] on healthy nutrition, sustainable food production, and reducing food waste”.
Plant-based milk. Several NGOs have called for plant-based milk to be included in the scope of the regulation on the school fruit, vegetables and milk scheme (https://aeur.eu/f/6s2 ).
The European Parliament rejected two amendments (Greens/EFA and The Left) that actually called for plant-based drinks to be added to the regulation. Even so, the European Parliament is calling on the European Commission, within the framework of the scheme, to “take account of the situation of children with [...] food allergies [...] and to allocate additional funding for the procurement of alternative diversified products”. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)