Brussels, 30/06/2004 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission on Wednesday authorised Austria to pay aid worth a total of 4.9 million euros per year for costs linked to EU agricultural enterprises which use the quality label and biolabel issued by Agrarmarkt Austria (AMA). The Commission considers that the measures financed comply with the conditions of the 2001 EU guidelines for State aid for advertising of agricultural products. The aid covers the cost of such measures as: - controls of companies participating in the programme; - consumer information about the label and quality products in general; - sales promotion and advertising.
“Agrarmarkt Austria” (AMA) can grant two different labels: - a quality label for agricultural products of significantly higher quality than pour regular products; - a “biolabel” for organic products. These labels are open to all European Union enterprises as long as they comply with the programme requirements regarding the quality of the labelled products. The products which can be granted these labels are: meat and meat products, eggs, milk and milk products, cereals, vegetables, fruits and several processed products. The labels may also contain the indication of origin, which identifies the place of production.