EU food schemes given financial backing
schemes, designed to promote agriculture products in the EU.
The total budget of the programmes running between one and three years is €55.3 million, of which the EU will contribute half.
In total 23 Member States submitted 79 programme proposals.
"European Union farm products are unique in their quality and diversity," said Mariann Fischer Boel, commissioner for agriculture and rural development.
"In an increasingly open global market, we need to redouble our efforts to explain their benefits to consumers. It is not enough to produce excellent food and drink; we also need to get smart when it comes to marketing."
The selected programmes cover organic products, agricultural quality products (PDO, PGI, TSG), dairy products, meat, wine, fruit and vegetables, plants, honey and potatoes. Boel claimed that EU programmes of this sort could help producers in an increasingly competitive world.
There have been fears that Europe's food and drink sector has been in danger of losing its competitiveness. The Confederation of Food and Drink Industries in the EU (CIAA) has voiced the opinion in recent months that the industry needs more help from the European Commission if it is to face the increasing competition from Asia, South America and the US.
The Council's announcement of further support should therefore benefit European food makers anxious to nurture new markets and open up new opportunities.
This is the latest in a line of assistance designed to make EU agriculture more competitive. These programmes go back to 19 December 2000, when the council decided that the EU could assist in financing measures that provide information on, or promote agricultural products and food on the EU Internal market.
These measures can consist of public relations, promotional or publicity actions, in particular highlighting the advantages of EU products, especially in terms of quality, hygiene, food safety, nutrition, labelling, animal welfare or environment-friendliness of their production.
The 19 countries mentioned in the latest proposals are Belgium, France, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Greece, Spain, Italy, Latvia, the Netherlands, Hungary, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Finland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
The EU food and drink industry sector is the largest manufacturing sector in the 25-member bloc, with a turnover value of around 800bn in 2003 and employs four million people. The sector purchases and processes 70 per cent of the EU's agricultural production. Exports of food and drink products add up to €45bn a year.
