On January 31th, the European Commission organised an Info day to present calls for proposals for promotion of EU agricultural products for 2017. The new calls have been published on January 12th and the closing deadline for submission of project proposals is April 20th, 2017.
Under the new policy, applicable since 1 December 2015, EU funds are available to co-finance multi-annual projects aimed at finding new markets and promoting EU agricultural products not only within the EU, but also on third country markets – with different rates of co-funding applicable.
The annual work programme for 2017 was adopted on 9 November 2016. A total of € 133 million will be available for promotion programmes selected for EU co-financing in 2017. It gives priority to promotion activities in a selected list of third countries identified by EC macro-economic analysis for their higher potential for growth.
The calls for proposals set out the details of the objectives, criteria, financial provisions, timetable and procedure for the submission of proposals for «simple» and «multi» programmes.
For «simple» programmes (from one or more organisation in the same Member State), the calls again put emphasis on products under EU quality schemes, from the outermost regions and from organic production, but also include specific topics for sectors hit by market difficulties, such as dairy and pigmeat, beef and an extra budget available for sectors facing unexpected crises.
Among 2017 calls for «multi» programmes (from organisations in more than one Member State or one or more European organisation) the Commission introduced of a new topic to increase the awareness of EU consumers on sustainable agriculture and the role of agriculture for climate action.
Deadline for application: Applications should be submitted to the CHAFEA by 20th April 2017 via the dedicated electronic portal. CHAFEA will then evaluate the applications and decide in autumn which projects to accept.
News: the Commission has developed the EU agri-food promotion portal: a website and networking platform for EU stakeholders from the agricultural and food sector. This new website is meant to be a one-stop shop for agri-food exporters. It will contain all relevant information related to agrifood industry and the list of existing services. Furthermore, the EC will offer tailor-made content and services, such as webinar and statistical reports. The portal will be launched in the coming days!
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