Agriculture MEPs endorse deal with Council on promoting EU farm produce
8 Apr 2014 12:57 PM
A deal with the EU Council of Ministers on
measures to boost sales of EU farm produce within the EU and abroad and to
restore consumer confidence in the event of market disruptions was approved by
the Agriculture Committee on Monday.
"This deal will further improve the promotion of EU
farm products worldwide. New measures will help EU farmers and the food
industry both to boost their sales abroad and to consolidate their position on
the EU single market", said Parliament's rapporteur Esther Herranz
García (EPP, ES). The agreement was approved by 31 votes to five, with
two abstentions.
Following Parliament's lead, the Council of
Ministers and the European Commission agreed to allow the promotion of EU farm
produce on the EU single market and not just in third
countries.
Information campaigns within the EU and in third
countries could focus on the high food safety, animal welfare, traceability and
sustainability standards that EU producers must meet.
EU contribution
increased
Funding for information and promotion campaigns should
come exclusively from the EU and the proposing organisation, thus excluding
member states from contributing, says the deal
But
to offset a possible lack of funding from producers, the three institutions
followed Parliament's lead and enabled the EU to increase its share of
funding.
All
eligible promotion and information campaigns within the EU and abroad should be
entitled to 70% - 80% co-funding, up from the 50% - 60% proposed by the
Commission.
In
the event of a serious market disruption or loss of consumer confidence, the
EU's share should be increased to 85% and could be increased by a further 5
percentage points if the proposing organisation is from a member state in
financial difficulty, according to the deal.
Flexible measures to deal with
crises
At Parliament's
request, the Commission will be allowed to launch prompt campaigns to remedy
serious market disturbances and losses of consumer confidence, such as that in
2011, when Spanish cucumbers were wrongly blamed for causing an E.coli
outbreak
Longer list of products
covered
The
deal also adds beer, chocolate, bread and pastry, pasta, salt, sweet corn, and
cotton to the list of products eligible for the full range of EU-supported
promotion measures. Fish and aquaculture products may be added to this list
provided they are bundled in a promotion or information campaign with other
eligible farm products, adds the agreed text
Parliament also ensured that included wines with a
protected designation of origin (PDO) and protected geographical indication
(PGI) could qualify for EU support provided promotion campaigns are sponsored
by organisations from several member states. For campaigns designed by
organisation(s) from a single member state, wine could be added to the list
only if bundled with other eligible products.
Next steps
The
provisional deal will be debated by the full Parliament at its last Strasbourg
plenary session (14 - 17 April) before the European elections. If Parliament
votes for it, then it will still need to be formally endorsed by the
Council.