PURPOSE : to harmonise and simplify the various current promotion schemes for agricultural products so as to increase their effectiveness and make their management more transparent.
CONTENT : at the moment the Commission operates twelve promotional schemes for products selected over the course of the years by the Council. Each scheme follows its own rules and falls into one of two categories: those run directly by the Commission (olive oil, flax, nuts, logos) and those run indirectly through the Member States or trade organisations (beef, milk products, apples and citrus fruit, grape juice, flowers, labelling).
It is desired that this whole system inherited from the past, with its lack of uniformity, be harmonised and simplified to make it more effective and facilitate its management resources available.
Following the approach taken to promotion outside the EU, the Community should for its activity within the EU provide itself with a flexible promotional tool useable "across the board".
The aim therefore must be information provision and promotion of a generic character avoiding overlap with promotional action of companies and national/regional authorities. Its role will be complementary to their classic marketing approach, and service to create a favourable environment for them among consumers.
It is proposed that the "piecemeal" approach taken up to now be abandoned and the Commission periodically choose (using the management committee procedure) the themes and sectors that are to be the subject of information provisions and promotion.
The main selection criteria will be:
- the wish to run campaigns, either thematic or with specific targets, drawing attention to high quality, nutritional values and safety levels, and also to the advantages of specific production methods;
- the existence of labelling and control/traceability systems;
- the need to boost sectors in short-term difficulty;
- the desire to provide information on the Community PDO/PGI and TSG schemes, organic products, the quality wine psr system etc.
With regard to the financing, action will be part-financed by the Community (50% on average) with the balance met by the trade and inter-trade organisations proposing programmes and Member States.
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