Green Paper on promotion measures and information provision for agricultural products: a reinforced value-added European strategy for promoting the tastes of Europe

The quality of Europe’s agricultural and agri-food products is widely acknowledged. The result of tradition, know-how and the innovative ability of producers, the European model is also the legacy of a strong Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and of standards of production unmatched anywhere in the world. We should be promoting this model, which plays a crucial role in the European Union’s ability to create growth in local economies, meet the expectations of European consumers and create interest among consumers in other countries.

However, the success enjoyed by Europe’s agricultural and agri-food sector should not hide the considerable challenges facing it. First of all, the strides made by EU producers in the areas of sanitation, the environment or animal welfare are not always known or given due recognition. Secondly, new players have arrived on the scene as genuine competitors both in traditional EU markets and in emerging markets. Finally, the EU has a culinary heritage of great diversity that should be exploited to the full.

The CAP enables better use to be made of the potential of the European agricultural and agri-food sector. A reform is under way which will ensure, with effect from 2013, that this policy feeds directly into the Europe 2020 Strategy for intelligent, sustainable and inclusive growth by promoting an agriculture sector which delivers food security, a sustainable use of natural resources and more dynamic rural areas. This calls in parallel for a fundamental review of the policy for information provision and promotion measures for agricultural products, which is one of the instruments of the CAP.

The aim of this Green Paper is to open this debate by speaking to all of the players concerned – consumers, producers, distributors and authorities – with the objective of shaping a new promotion and information strategy which will be targeted and ambitious in scope in order to draw greater benefit from the considerable resources of Europe's farming and agri-food sector.

EUR-Lex: COM(2011)436: Follow the progress of this document through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2011:436:FIN

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