The Commission presented its report on the exercise of the power to adopt delegated acts conferred on the Commission pursuant to Regulation (EU) No 1144/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council on information provision and promotion measures concerning agricultural products implemented in the internal market and in third countries.

Delimitation of the delegation of powers

Regulation (EU) No 1144/2014 lays down the conditions under which information provision and promotion measures concerning agricultural products and certain food products based on agricultural products implemented in the internal market or in third countries may be fully or partially financed from the Union budget.

The Regulation empowers the Commission to adopt delegated acts:

- in order to supplement the list of products in Annex I by adding food products in order to take account of market developments;

- to set out the specific conditions under which each of the proposing organisations, groups and bodies may submit a programme;

- to lay down the specific conditions for eligibility with regard to simple programmes;

- to set out the conditions governing the competitive procedure for the selection of the implementing bodies;

- concerning the specific conditions under which costs of information provision and promotion measures, and, where necessary, administrative and staff costs, are eligible for Union funding.

The power to adopt delegated acts shall be conferred on the Commission for a period of five years from 24 November 2014. The Commission shall draw up a report in respect of the delegation of power no later than nine months before the end of the five-year period. The delegation of power is tacitly extended for periods of an identical duration, unless the European Parliament or the Council opposes such extension not later than three months before the end of each period.

Exercise of Delegation

The Commission has adopted one delegated act on the basis of Articles 7(2), 11(1), 13(1) and 15(8): Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/1829 . This delegated act lays out the conditions for the proposal of simple and multi programmes by proposing organisations, including the requirement that said organisations are representative of the sector or product concerned. Significant scale of the simple programmes is required for the eligibility of a simple programme and further specified. It also specifies the criteria for the selection of bodies to implement simple programmes and defines the eligible costs. Neither the European Parliament nor the Council issued any objection to the Delegated Regulation. After the expiry of the two-month period, the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/1829 was published in the Official Journal of the European Union and entered into force on 20 October 2015.

The empowerments of Articles 5(2) and 29(2) have not been used, because the Commission did not identify any need for adding food products to the list of products of Annex I, neither to provide for transitional rules between the old and the new Regulation.

The Commission does not intend to use the empowerments in the near future, but it cannot be excluded that it will become necessary.

The Commission concluded that it has exercised its delegated powers correctly. However, it cannot be excluded that the empowerments will be needed in future.

In accordance with Regulation (EU) No 1144/2014 of the European Parliament, the Commission presents an interim report on information provision and promotion measures concerning agricultural products implemented in the internal market and in third countries. As a reminder, the EU helps the agri-food sector to finance information and promotion campaigns. By explaining to consumers and importers the high standards and the quality of EU agri-food products, EU promotion programmes can support European producers in an increasingly competitive world and encourage the opening up of new markets.

The report states that in the light of the statistics on applications concerning promotion programmes, the participation in High Level Missions since 2016, and feedback from evaluation questionnaires, there is a high level of interest in the reformed promotion policy.

The promotion programmes 2016 was the first year of the implementation of the reformed promotion policy. The Consumers, Health, Agriculture and Food Executive Agency (CHAFEA) received 226 proposals: 199 for simple programmes (submitted by one or more proposing organisations from the same Member State) and 27 for multi programmes (submitted by at least two proposing organisations from at least two Member States or one or more EU level organisations) following the publication of the calls for proposals. A total of 60 simple programmes were selected. Proposals from 16 Member States were approved. The largest number of beneficiaries were from Italy (10), followed by 8 beneficiaries from France and 8 from Greece.

2017 - there were 189 proposals for simple and 35 proposals for multi programmes and 53 simple programmes and 10 multi programmes were selected. Organisations from France received 17 grants (from 23 applications submitted) out of the 53 proposals awarded for simple programmes, in total corresponding to 36% of the budget.

2018 - CHAFEA received 182 proposals (146 for simple, 36 for multi) following the publication of the calls. Pending signature of the grant agreements, it is envisaged that Italian organisations will receive 18 grants out of 58 grants in total (and out of 31 proposals submitted by Italian organisations) corresponding to 35% of the budget. The fruit and vegetables sector with 17 applications is to receive 31.2% of the budget, meat and meat preparation 22.7% (12 grants), cheese and dairy products 19.5% (13 grants) and basket of products 19.2% of the available budget (10 grants). The four sectors account for the majority of the programmes evaluated to receive a grant and account for the lion’s share of the available budget.

The high number of proposals received after the publications of the calls for proposals in 2016, 2017 and 2018 indicates a genuine interest in the scheme . In addition, participants have welcomed the simplification of the submission procedure and the tools available to help applicants to submit a proposal.

Statistics on the type of participants show that not only the well-known inter-trade organisations are participating, but also a high number of producer organisations or associations of producer organisations, groups of producers and processors active in geographical indications.

High-level missions : the Commission has implemented high-level missions to Columbia and Mexico, China and Japan, Vietnam, Singapore and Indonesia, Canada, Iran and Saudi Arabia.

A survey among participants revealed that the average satisfaction rate among business delegates is generally above 90%.

The interim report goes on to indicate that the evaluation procedures for promotion programmes have proved to be efficient as far as submission, evaluation and implementation of the measures are concerned. Each year evaluation questionnaires were sent out to the applicants following the closure of the call in order to seek advice on potential areas for improvement. In 2018, 22% of the applicants provided feedback. 79% of respondents were satisfied with the electronic submission, 76% considered that the evaluation criteria were clearly explained. The vast majority (86%) of the calls documents provided were considered useful or very useful.

The report adds that since the reformed promotion policy can be evaluated only as from 2016, it is considered premature at this stage to propose amendments. An external evaluation is being launched for the final report and appropriate proposals will be made at that time.

PURPOSE: to adopt measures promoting agricultural products in the internal market and third countries.

LEGISLATIVE ACT: Regulation (EU) n° 1144/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council on information provision and promotion measures concerning agricultural products implemented in the internal market and in third countries and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 3/2008.

CONTENT: the Regulation revises the system established under Regulation (EC) 3/2008 in order to make it more efficient and coherent. It lays down the conditions under which information provision and promotion measures concerning agricultural products and certain food products based on agricultural products implemented in the internal market or in third countries, may be fully or partially financed from the Union budget.

Objectives of information provision and promotion measures: this involves:

increase awareness of the merits of Union agricultural products and of the high standards applicable to the production methods in the Union; increase the competitiveness and consumption of Union agricultural products and certain food products and to raise their profile both inside and outside the Union; increase the awareness and recognition of Union quality schemes ; increase the market share of Union agricultural products and certain food products, specifically focusing on those markets in third countries that have the highest growth potential; restore normal market conditions in the event of serious market disturbance, loss of consumer confidence or other specific problems.

Measures should aim to :

highlight the specific features of agricultural production methods in the Union , particularly in terms of food safety, traceability, authenticity, labelling, nutritional and health aspects, animal welfare, respect for the environment and sustainability, and the characteristics of agricultural and food products, particularly in terms of their quality, taste, diversity or traditions; raise awareness of the authenticity of European protected designations of origin, protected geographical indication and traditional specialities guaranteed.

Those measures will in particular consist of public relation work and information campaigns and may also take the form of participation in events, fairs and exhibitions of national, European and international importance.

Programmes will consist of a coherent set of operations and shall be implemented over a period of at least one but not more than three years.

Mention of origin: the Regulation states that information provision and promotion measures shall not be brand-oriented or origin-oriented. Nevertheless, it shall be possible for the origin of products to be visible on information and promotional material, subject to the certain rules to be expanded on in implementing acts on the internal market.

Eligible products and schemes: measures may cover:

the products listed in Annex I to the TFEU , excluding tobacco; the products listed in Annex I to this Regulation; spirit drinks with a protected geographical indication and beer under certain conditions; the fishery and aquaculture products listed in Annex I to Regulation (EU) No 1379/2013 if other products are also covered.

Proposing organisations : until now, programmes were proposed by trade or inter-trade organisations, but the new Regulation expands the scope of beneficiaries to producer organisations or associations of producer organisations, groups and agri-food sector bodies .

The Commission will evaluate and select proposals for simple programmes received in response to the call for proposals and it must provide Member States with information on all the programmes proposed or selected.

Technical support services : with regard to measures on the initiative of the Commission, the latter must develop technical support services, in particular with a view to:

encouraging awareness of different markets, including by means of exploratory business meetings; maintaining a dynamic professional network around information and promotion policy, including providing advice to the sector with regard to the threat of imitation and counterfeit products in third countries.

Financing : the Union’s financial contribution to simple programmes in the internal market shall be 70 % of the eligible expenditure and 80 % in third countries. These percentages shall be increased to 85 % in the event of serious market disturbance, loss of consumer confidence.

Report: by 31 December 2018, the Commission shall submit an interim report on the application of the Regulation including the rate of uptake in different Member States, together with any appropriate proposals.

ENTRY INTO FORCE: 24.11.2014. The Regulation is applicable from 1.12.2015.

DELEGATED ACTS: the Commission may adopt delegated acts in order to supplement or amend certain non-essential elements of the Regulation. The power to adopt such acts is conferred on the Commission for a period of five years (renewable) from 24 November 2014 . The European Parliament or the Council may raise objections to a delegated act within two months of the date of notification (which may be extended by two months). If Parliament or Council raise objections, the delegated act will not come into force.

The European Parliament adopted by 557 votes to 103 with 12 abstentions a legislative resolution on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on information provision and promotion measures for agricultural products on the internal market and in third countries.

Parliament adopted its position at first reading under the ordinary legislative procedure. The amendments adopted in plenary were the result of a compromise between Parliament and Council. They amend the Commission’s proposal as follows:

Objectives: Parliament and Council agreed to clarify that Information provision and promotion measures should enhance the competitiveness of the agricultural sector. More specifically, the measures should:

· aim to increase consumers' awareness about the merits of the Union's agricultural products and recognition of EU quality schemes;

· increasing the competitiveness and consumption of EU agricultural products and certain food products and raise their profile both within and outside the Union;

· increasing awareness and recognition of Union quality schemes;

· increasing the market share of EU agricultural products and certain food products, with a specific focus on those markets in third countries with the highest growth potential;

· restoring normal market conditions in the event of a serious market disturbance, loss of consumer confidence or other specific problems.

Information provision and promotion measures : as Members had proposed, the amended text kept one class of action that might be financed inside and outside the EU. This should be aimed at:

· stressing the (i) specific features of agricultural production methods in the Union, particularly in terms of food safety, traceability, authenticity, labelling, nutritional and health aspects, animal welfare, respect for the environment and sustainability, and (ii) the characteristics of agricultural and food products, particularly in terms of quality, taste, diversity or traditions;

· raising awareness about the authenticity of European protected designations of origin, protected geographical indication and traditional specialities guaranteed.

Those measures should consist notably in public relation work and information campaigns and may also take the form of participation in events, fairs and exhibitions of national, European and international importance.

Characteristics of the measures : information provision and promotion measures must not be brand-oriented or be origin-oriented. Nevertheless, in order to improve the quality and effectiveness of demonstrations, tastings and information and promotion material, it should be possible to mention the product brand and origin, provided that the principle of non-discrimination is respected and the measures are not aimed at encouraging the consumption of any product on the sole ground of its origin.

Eligible products : as regards wine , only wine with designation of origin or protected geographical indication status and wine carrying an indication of the wine grape variety should be the subject of the information provision and promotion measures.

The eligibility of fishery and aquaculture products listed in Annex 1 to Regulation (EU) No 1379/2013, for the information provision and promotion measures provided for under this scheme, should be limited solely to fishery and aquaculture products which are associated with another agricultural or food product.

Also eligible will be: (i) products covered by Union quality schemes and quality schemes recognised by Member States; (ii) the organic production method,(iii) the logo for quality agricultural products specific to the outermost regions.

The Commission will adopt delegated acts with the aim of supplementing the list of eligible products in accordance with market perspectives.

Types of actions : measures shall be implemented in the context of information and promotion programmes and Commission initiatives. Programmes should consist of a coherent set of operations and shall be implemented over a period of at least one year but not more than three years.

In order to increase the number of measures proposed and improve their quality, the co-legislators widened the range of beneficiaries to include producer organisations, groups and bodies of the agrifood sector whose objective and activity is to provide information on and promote agricultural products.

Commission work programme : the annual work programme adopted by the Commission must set out the operational objectives. The work programme should provide, among others, for specific arrangements in order to react in the event of a serious market disturbance or loss of consumer confidence.

Financial provisions : the Union's financial contribution to simple programmes should be 70 % of the eligible expenditure on the internal market and 80% in third countries.

The percentage contributed by the Union in the event of a serious disruption to the market, loss of consumer confidence or other specific problems should be 85 %.

Technical support services : as proposed by Members, the services developed by the Commission should encourage awareness of different markets, including the financing of exploratory business meetings, maintaining a dynamic professional network around information and promotion policy, and advice to the sector with regard to the threat of imitation and counterfeit products in third countries.

Report: by 31 December 2018, the Commission shall submit an interim report on the application of the Regulation, including the rate of uptake in different Member States, together with any appropriate proposals.

The Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development adopted the report by Esther HERRANZ GARCÍA (EPP, ES) on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on information provision and promotion measures for agricultural products on the internal market and in third countries

The committee recommended that Parliament’s position in first reading following the ordinary legislative procedure should amend the Commission position as follows:

Objectives: the committee clarified that Information provision and promotion measures provided for by this Regulation should pursue the following objectives:

· increasing the market share of Union agricultural and food products, with a specific focus on the markets with the highest growth potential;

· providing information to consumers on the high standards that Union products are required to meet, arising from application of the common agricultural policy (CAP);

· increasing the competitiveness of Union products and raising their profile both within and outside the Union;

· restoring normal market conditions in the event of serious disruption to the market, loss of consumer confidence or other specific problems.

Measures on the internal and third-country markets : while the Commission proposal made a distinction between measures that could be embarked upon within the internal market and those that could be run in third countries, the report proposed retaining just one classification for measures that may be financed both within the European Union and outside it.

Information measures should aim to:

· stress the specific features of agricultural and food production methods in the Union, particularly in terms of food safety, quality, labelling, traceability, sustainability, social standards, cultural traditions, taste, nutritional and health aspects, animal welfare or respect for the environment;

· highlight the intrinsic characteristics of agricultural and food products.

Promotion measures should aim to:

· increase sales of agricultural and processed food products based on Union agricultural products.

· protecting the authenticity of protected designation of origin, protected geographical indication and traditional specialities guaranteed.

Eligible products : Members introduced cotton to the list of eligible products. Wine with designation of origin or protected geographical indication status and wine carrying an indication of the wine grape variety should be eligible for information and promotion measures.

Fishery and aquaculture products may only be the subjects of information and promotion measures in third countries under certain conditions.

With regard to food products based on agricultural products, priority should be given to products for which the Union origin of the raw materials was demonstrated.

Financial provisions: Members proposed that the Union's financial contribution to simple programmes should be at least 75 % (rather than 50%) of the eligible expenditure. They deleted the provision regarding increasing this to 60% for a simple programme targeting one or more third countries and for information and promotion measures on fruit and vegetables specifically targeting children in Union educational establishments.

The percentage contributed by the Union in the event of a serious disruption to the market, loss of consumer confidence or other specific problems should be at least 85 %.

Technical support services : Members specified that the services developed by the Commission should encourage awareness of different markets, including the financing of exploratory business meetings, maintaining a dynamic professional network around information and promotion policy, advising and assisting operators in regard to protecting their products from imitation and counterfeit products in third countries.

Report: by 31 December 2017, the Commission should an interim report on the application of this Regulation, including the rate of uptake in different Member States, together with any appropriate proposals. At the European Parliament's request, the Commission shall present the interim report to the responsible committee.

The Council held a policy debate on the proposal for a regulation on information provision and promotion measures for agricultural products on the internal market and in third countries.

Some Member States considered as real added value to maintain information and promotion measures on the internal market; on the contrary, for some others promotion should focus on foreign countries to avoid a distortion of competition into the EU.

The main issues raised during the debate concerned the following:

the regret that the proposal does not envisage the co-financing of member states pointing out that SMEs and producer organisations would be affected and would not have the financial capability to engage in such actions; the need to better involve Member States in the whole process of selecting promotion programmes; the need to extend the list of products covered by the measures; the need to closely check use of the budget for information and promotion.

PURPOSE: to extend and modernise European information and promotion measures for agricultural products

PROPOSED ACT: Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council.

ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the European Parliament decides in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and on an equal footing with the Council.

BACKGROUND: since it accounts for 18 % of world exports and 20 % of world imports, the EU can claim to be the world's number one importer and exporter of agricultural products , jockeying for position with the United States. Over the years, the European sector has focussed on quality and added value, offering processed products that are increasingly popular in Europe and worldwide.

Nevertheless, on the internal market only a small minority of European consumers are aware of the efforts undertaken by European farmers to supply high-quality, healthy and safe products. Only 14 % of Europeans recognise the logos of products that benefit from a protected designation of origin (PDO) or a protected geographical indication (PGI), these being the main European quality schemes established by the Union.

European agriculture is faced today with a much more competitive environment , largely resulting from the globalisation of markets. This trend should continue in the coming years with the prospect of the Doha round and various bilateral and regional agreements currently under negotiation being concluded. Though often feared, these agreements might also give rise to major opportunities for the sector.

Council Regulation (EC) n° 3/2008 currently sets out the main principles of the information provision and promotion measures on the internal market and in third countries for agricultural products. Reform of this policy is needed , one which learns from the lessons of the promotional programmes implemented to date. The objective is to support agriculture, and especially the SMEs and producer organisations that form the backbone of this sector.

IMPACT ASSESSMENT: the ‘targeted’ scenario is the favoured option: this scenario ensures targeting of promotion measures on the internal and external markets through the development and implementation of a strategy. It also encourages collaboration between operators in the various Member States (by means of directly managed multi-country programmes). The strategy will also allow the range of products and themes eligible under the promotion scheme to be widened. Lastly, this scenario involves better use of indications of the origin of products and brand names (e.g. "banner" brands).

CONTENT: in view of the experience gained and likely trends in the agricultural sector and on markets both inside and outside the Union, the Commission proposes to repeal Regulation (EC) No 3/2008 replace it with a new regulation.

The proposal aims to enable information provision and promotion measures necessary for the agricultural sector to be able to rise to the many challenges it faces in a context of growing competition and opening-up of markets to be implemented on the internal market and in third countries.

The main points of the proposed reform are as follows:

· measures targeting the internal market, limited to providing information on the specific characteristics of agricultural production methods in the Union or on themes which are relevant to the Union, such as the European quality systems ;

· measures to enhance the authenticity of Union products so as to improve consumers' awareness as to the qualities of genuine products as compared to imitations and counterfeit products;

· opening up the information and promotion scheme to certain food products based on agricultural products;

· the eligibility of wine for the information provision and promotion measures to be limited solely to wine which is associated with another agricultural or food product.

· strict guidelines as regards the possibilities of mentioning the origin of products or brand names as a means of illustrating the main generic message highlighting the intrinsic characteristics of European agricultural products;

· specific arrangements to encourage a larger number of information provision and promotion measures for Union agricultural products in third countries , with the aim of reaching 75 % of estimated expenditure;

· opening up the scheme to producer organisations ;

· establishment of a work programme which defines the strategic priorities for these measures in terms of populations, products, themes or markets to be targeted and the nature of the information and promotion messages to be imparted;

· development of new technical and support services at European level with the aim of helping operators take part in co-financed programmes, conduct effective campaigns or develop their export activities.

· better management of programmes submitted by operators in different Member States ;

· a systematic impact assessment in order to confirm that the goals set have indeed been achieved;

· simplification of administrative procedures: the Commission will be more active in managing multi-country programmes, thereby making it easier for them to be set up and implemented. The respective roles of Member State and the Commission in terms of monitoring and control must be clarified in order to avoid duplication and lengthy procedures. It is proposed that selection should take place solely at Commission level.

BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS: compared to the present situation, the proposal gradually but significantly increases the budget allocated to information provision and promotion measures for agricultural products (from EUR 61.5 million in the 2013 budget to EUR 200 million in 2020). Total expenditure is estimated at EUR 883 million for the period 2014-2020.

DELEGATED ACTS: the proposal contains provisions empowering the Commission to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.