Brussels, 14/06/2004 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has approved 26 programmes in 12 Member States (Germany, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Spain, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal and the United Kingdom) to provide information on and to promote quality agricultural products in the European Union. The total budget of the programmes is € 21.5 million over three years, of which the EU will contribute half.
Eleven of the programmes relate to information about the new EU standards for the marking of eggs (Belgium, Germany, Spain, Ireland, Italy, Finland, Netherlands, Austria and Portugal). In France fruit and vegetables were stressed and in the United Kingdom, milk and especially milk. Out of the € 10.7 million Community funds, Italy will benefit from EUR 3.3 million (7 programmes in all), followed by the Netherlands with 1.7 million (three programmes-, Portugal and France (1.3 million each for three programmes) and the United Kingdom (1 million for promoting meat).
This is the first series for the year 2004. A second series will be approved towards the end of the year. The annual EU budget available for promotion programmes in the agriculture sector is € 48.5 million.