European Parliament to decide on agricultural promotion policies
The Parliament's reporter on the proposal, José Bové, will report in October, and based on the EP's report and their initial proposal, the European Commission will prepare a legislative proposal.
In the discussions taking place within the Parliament's Agriculture Commission on the reform of agricultural promotion policies proposed by the European Commission there have been issues of particular concern, such as whether the strengthening of the promotion should only apply to quality products and whether buyers are willing to pay more for those quality products with higher production costs.
Another topic was the strengthening of local markets through promotion. In his initial draft report, the EP's reporter of the promotion policies reform, José Bové, considers that the Union's policies should incorporate the so-called short circuits in order to accommodate local agriculture.
Other EP Agriculture Commission members consider that local markets are important, but should be given a boost through rural development measures within the framework of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), as proposed by the European Commission.
The promotion and information policy reforms for agricultural products were initiated by the European Commission with the presentation in July 2011 of the Green Paper. The goal is to "define the boundaries of a well-targeted and ambitious promotion and information strategy to facilitate an increase in the value of agricultural resources and products." In March, the Commission presented a Communication entitled: "Promotion measures and information provision for agricultural products: a reinforced value-added strategy for promoting the tastes of Europe", which includes the basic guidelines, and now the EP must issue an opinion next autumn.
For FEPEX, promoting vegetable and fruit consumption is a key instrument to stimulate the market in this sector.
Source: Fepex