The European Parliament adopted a declaration on the establishment of European Artisanal Gelato Day tabled by Sergio Paolo Francesco SILVESTRIS (EPP, IT), Paolo DE CASTRO (S&D, IT), Andreas MÖLZER (NI, AT), Eva ORTIZ VILELLA (EPP, ES) and Ewald STADLER (NI, AT) and signed by 387 Members.

Members recall that EU legislation is increasingly geared towards ensuring the quality of food and, of all fresh dairy products, artisanal gelato is a product of excellence in terms of food quality and safety. They state that consumers are increasingly opting for healthy, more nutritious and tastier foods made using traditional methods which do not have an impact on the environment.

Moreover, they state that the sector directly employs some 300 000, mostly young, workers in around 50 000 ice cream parlours throughout Europe and the consumption of ice cream is gradually becoming less seasonal, resulting in a year-round turnover of hundreds of millions of euros.

In this context, Parliament calls on the the Member States to support the production of artisanal gelato, a high-quality product, since this is an area in which the EU economy can compete and an opportunity to be seized, given the current crisis in the dairy and other sectors.

It decides to establish a European Artisanal Gelato Day, to be celebrated on 24 March, to help promote this product and build on the sector's gastronomic traditions.