In a report published on Wednesday 26 July, the European Commission considers that the criteria for allocating EU aid under the schools programme between Member States remain relevant.
These criteria, the Commission explains, encompass three key principles: proportionality (number of pupils in each Member State), cohesion (level of development of the regions) and effectiveness (historical use).
The current review of the EU school scheme could lead to consideration being given to extending the scope of the third criterion (historical use) to include fruit and vegetables in schools, as this criterion is currently limited to milk, according to the report.
The possibility of transferring the EU aid was mainly used to redirect funds from the school milk budget to the school fruit and vegetables budget. In practice, only 15% of the amounts transferred were actually used for transfers from milk budgets to fruit and vegetable budgets, and 12% for transfers in the opposite direction.
The review of the programme could lead to Member States being able to use their national allocations according to their needs, according to the report. The EU aid amounts to €220.8 million per school year, including €130.6 million for fruit and vegetables and €90.2 million for milk.
The report: https://aeur.eu/f/892 (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)