The European Parliament adopted a resolution on promotion measures and information provision for agricultural products in response to the Commission’s communication on the subject.

It supports the main objectives defined in the Commission’s communication, namely to create higher European added value in the food sector, a more appealing and assertive policy strategy, simpler management and greater synergy between different promotion instruments.

Members consider that equal attention should be given to internal and external market promotion policy. They highlight the fact that, on the internal market, general and sustained promotion is required in order to ensure that European consumers are informed about the characteristics and added value of the European agricultural products they find on the market. They s tress that, on the external market, there is a need to maintain and boost market share for European agricultural products and to target new emerging markets in order to find new outlets for these products.

However, Parliament calls for the objectives of EU promotion policy to be clearer and adequately defined and stresses that promotion activities should cover all agri-food products that meet European quality standards. It considers that the budget for improved information and promotion measures should be significantly increased , taking account of the most recent objectives of information and promotion policy, notably for the horizontal promotion scheme. It also insists on the need to organise comprehensive consumer information campaigns in the EU and on external markets regarding production quality standards and certification systems.

Local, regional, internal and external markets: Parliament notes that the EU’s information and promotion policy should have three main objectives:

in local and regional markets it should highlight the diversity and freshness of products and the proximity between producers and consumers, with a view to the economic revitalisation and social enhancement of rural life; in the internal market it should reap the full benefits of the European area without borders and its 500 million consumers, with a view to boosting production and stimulating the consumption of European products; in external markets it should exploit the high standards followed by the European production model in order to obtain greater value-added for the agri-food sector.

For local and regional markets, Parliament proposes that the European Commission develops short supply chains in local and regional markets, thereby creating new opportunities for farmers and other producers in rural areas and for associations of farmers and/or farmers and other operators in rural areas, and that it should design a broad set of instruments to promote the development of rural areas.

As regards the internal market, Members propose that the Commission does more to support the efforts being made by European producers to acquire the necessary capacity to meet higher consumer demand. They therefore call for the expansion of programmes geared to either markets or target products, and for the associated promotion tools to focus on the specific characteristics of production standards, always highlighting the European production model and European quality systems in particular.

With respect to external markets, Members consider it is therefore vital to invest in promotion programmes . These programmes should be preceded by market studies in third countries, for which co-financing should be available. Parliament believes that consideration should also be given to the possibility of supporting pilot projects in third countries that have been identified as potential new markets.

The Commission is called upon to raise consumer awareness of the fact that European agricultural standards are the most demanding in the world in terms of quality, safety, animal welfare, environmental sustainability, etc., which affects the final price of the product. Consumers should be provided with transparent information on how European products and their characteristics can be identified, in order to avoid the risk of purchasing counterfeit products.

Origin and quality: Members believe that quality products are those that are linked to specific production methods, geographical origins, traditions or cultural contexts. They call for a new ‘local farming and direct sale’ scheme to cover local quality products intended for consumption in the region where they are produced.

Parliament takes the view that the indication of European origin should prevail as the main identity in all promotion and information activities, both in the internal market and in third countries. Members consider it vital to ensure more effective protection for products subject to quality standards vis-à-vis EU trading partners. They call for the full inclusion of geographical indications and wider protection for them under bilateral and interregional trade agreements and at World Trade Organisation level.

Parliament also stresses the need to: i) amend the funding framework provisions for the promotion of products subject to quality standards with a view to increasing EU financial involvement; ii) more active stimulation of the production and promotion of organic products; and iii) promote local products from mountain and island areas and to step up EU funding for this purpose.

Members note that wine consumption in the EU is in constant decline and there are no European measures for the internal promotion of this product. They also recall that the current proposal to overhaul the common market organisation suggests raising EU co-financing rates for the School Fruit Scheme from 50 % to 75 % of costs (and from 75 % to 90 % in convergence regions). Accordingly, the Commission is asked to:

take steps to encourage all Member States to place greater emphasis on the educational character of national school fruit and school milk schemes and to integrate the School Fruit and School Milk Schemes fully into the second pillar of agricultural support; assess the implementation in the EU market of information campaigns targeted at the adult population on the responsible consumption of European quality wines .

The Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development adopted an own-initiative report by José BOVÉ (Greens/EFA, FR) on promotion measures and information provision for agricultural products in response to the Commission’s communication on the subject.

The report supports the main objectives defined in the Commission’s communication, namely to create higher European added value in the food sector, a more appealing and assertive policy strategy, simpler management and greater synergy between different promotion instruments.

Members consider that equal attention should be given to internal and external market promotion policy. They highlight the fact that, on the internal market, general and sustained promotion is required in order to ensure that European consumers are informed about the characteristics and added value of the European agricultural products they find on the market. They s tress that, on the external market, there is a need to maintain and boost market share for European agricultural products and to target new emerging markets in order to find new outlets for these products.

The committee responsible however calls for the objectives of EU promotion policy to be clearer and adequately defined and stresses that promotion activities should cover all agri-food products that meet European quality standards. It considers that the budget for improved information and promotion measures should be significantly increased , taking account of the most recent objectives of information and promotion policy, notably for the horizontal promotion scheme. It also insists on the need to organise comprehensive consumer information campaigns in the EU and on external markets regarding production quality standards and certification systems.

Local, regional, internal and external markets: Members note that the EU ’ s information and promotion policy should have three main objectives:

· in local and regional markets it should highlight the diversity and freshness of products and the proximity between producers and consumers, with a view to the economic revitalisation and social enhancement of rural life;

· in the internal market it should reap the full benefits of the European area without borders and its 500 million consumers, with a view to boosting production and stimulating the consumption of European products;

· in external markets it should exploit the high standards followed by the European production model in order to obtain greater value-added for the agri-food sector.

For local and regional markets, the report proposes that the European Commission develops short supply chains in local and regional markets, thereby creating new opportunities for farmers and other producers in rural areas and for associations of farmers and/or farmers and other operators in rural areas, and that it should design a broad set of instruments to promote the development of rural areas.

As regards the internal market, Members propose that the Commission does more to support the efforts being made by European producers to acquire the necessary capacity to meet higher consumer demand. They therefore call for the expansion of programmes geared to either markets or target products, and for the associated promotion tools to focus on the specific characteristics of production standards, always highlighting the European production model and European quality systems in particular.

With respect to external markets, Members consider it is therefore vital to invest in promotion programmes . These programmes should be preceded by market studies in third countries, for which co-financing should be available; believes that consideration should also be given to the possibility of supporting pilot projects in third countries that have been identified as potential new markets.

The Commission is called upon to raise consumer awareness of the fact that European agricultural standards are the most demanding in the world in terms of quality, safety, animal welfare, environmental sustainability, etc., which affects the final price of the product. Consumers should be provided with transparent information on how European products and their characteristics can be identified, in order to avoid the risk of purchasing counterfeit products.

Origin and quality: Members believe that quality products are those that are linked to specific production methods, geographical origins, traditions or cultural contexts. They call for a new ‘ local farming and direct sale ’ scheme to cover local quality products intended for consumption in the region where they are produced.

The report takes the view that the indication of European origin should prevail as the main identity in all promotion and information activities, both in the internal market and in third countries. Members consider it vital to ensure more effective protection for products subject to quality standards vis-à-vis EU trading partners. They call for the full inclusion of geographical indications and wider protection for them under bilateral and interregional trade agreements and at World Trade Organisation level.

The report also stresses the need to: i) amend the funding framework provisions for the promotion of products subject to quality standards with a view to increasing EU financial involvement; ii) more active stimulation of the production and promotion of organic products; and iii) promote local products from mountain and island areas and to step up EU funding for this purpose.

Lastly, the Commission is asked to:

· take steps to encourage all Member States to place greater emphasis on the educational character of national school fruit and school milk schemes and to integrate the School Fruit and School Milk Schemes fully into the second pillar of agricultural support;

· assess the implementation in the EU market of information campaigns targeted at the adult population on the responsible consumption of European quality wines .

PURPOSE: to provide a few preliminary guidelines for reforming the promotion measures and information provision for agricultural products.

BACKGROUND: in 2010 the European Union was the world’s second exporter of agricultural products for a total value of EUR 91 billion, right after the United States (EUR 92 billion), and the biggest importer (EUR 84 billion). The share of finished and processed products in European exports has increased continuously over the years. The food chain represents 6% of European gross domestic product (GDP). More specifically, within European manufacturing industry, the food industry is the biggest employer with 4.2 million jobs (13.5%) and a turnover of EUR 954 billion (12.9%).

The reform of the Common Agricultural Policy is seeking to improve the organisation of the production, sustainability and quality of agricultural products. In this context, offering excellent products that meet stringent standards remains a priority but is no longer sufficient for durably securing a good position on the market .

The European Union, which has extremely diverse, high-quality production and guarantees a high level of health security, has all the resources necessary to benefit from the projected growth of world demand as long as it highlights its strengths through a better targeted and more ambitious promotion policy . In addition, on the internal market, consumers should be made more aware of the quality and diversity of the available range of products.

With this in mind, in-depth discussions were launched in July 2011, including a public debate, with the adoption of a Green Paper on information provision and promotion measures for agricultural products to serve as a flagship measure to reinforce the competitiveness of EU agriculture. The reflections presented in this Communication are also based on the external evaluation report, prepared in 2011, on the present promotion policy. The European Parliament too expressed support for reinforcing promotion measures, in particular those aimed at quality products.

CONTENT: this Communication aims at increasing the added value of the agri-food sector and its contribution to the European economy by moving towards a European and global promotion policy more focused on the commercial aspects of the sector.

The main objectives of the future promotion policy are as follows:

(1) Higher European added value : the promotion of agricultural products must not replace promotion activities in the private sector but should rather endow them with a special European dimension.

This European added value can be generated by defining a European information and promotion strategy that targets markets more precisely and offers products or messages to be highlighted (for example products with a high added value). Account should be taken of free trade agreement negotiations and the most profitable markets in order to avoid the fragmentation of effort. Furthermore, cooperation between the economic players of the different Member States contributes greatly to European added value and to highlighting the diversity of European agricultural products.

(2) A more appealing and assertive policy : the information and promotion policy is also subject to administrative constraints. Programmes have been submitted too timidly in third countries. In addition, it is not always easy to assess the range of actions, whose impact may not be seen until later. It is therefore important to conduct more appealing campaigns preceded, if necessary, by market analyses, studies of consumer habits or pilot campaigns. In order to reinforce the cost-effectiveness of the future policy, each action will require a more systematic impact assessment to confirm that the objectives set have indeed been met.

(3) Simpler management : information and promotion programmes are usually financed and managed on a tripartite basis (trade organisations, the Member State and the European Commission). In turn, trade organisations rely on implementing bodies such as advertising agencies to carry out the actions they have planned.

The contributions to the Green Paper are often requests to review the method used to select programmes and to make their planning and execution more flexible so changes can be made during implementation. The contributions call for a more active role for the Commission in drafting and coordinating multi-country programmes, especially in third countries. At the same time, the respective roles of the Member State and the Commission in following up and monitoring activities will be clarified in order to avoid duplication of effort and lengthy procedures.

(4) Greater synergy between the different promotion instruments : w hile the special features of the different sectors should be kept in mind, it is desirable to seek linkages and synergies that strengthen the promotion policy.

Regardless of the scheme, a common identity, including visual and content-related elements , would provide these promotion activities with a stronger European identity and better

consumer visibility and improve their performance.

A variety of reform options for achieving an information and promotion policy that meets the above objectives are set out, such as:

a wider scope of application of information and promotion measures beyond professional organisations; establish a single, homogeneous list that follows more closely the list of products covered by the quality policy; activities could also deliver thematic messages illustrating the special characteristics of European products and, in particular, their quality, gastronomical aspects, health issues, sustainable development or animal well-being; using new technologies that would make it possible to visualise the implementation of good production practices on farms or sell products online more easily; a wider scope of activity with the development of technical assistance for operators; revised intervention methods, especially in multi-country programmes; greater consistency between information and promotion activities under the promotion scheme and other promotion measures within the CAP; ensure that Europe’s budget can ensure the objectives set out. When investing in promotion measures, Europe will have to look for the best possible return on investment.

These objectives will be examined during the impact analysis process that will accompany and be used to justify the legislative proposal to be adopted by the Commission before the end of 2012 .