Implementation of the EU school scheme for fruit, vegetables and milk products: A mid-term review

Starting with milk in the 1970s, the European Union (EU) has a long history of supplying agricultural products to school children. With a dedicated EU school scheme for the 2017-2023 period, the EU is currently funding the distribution of fruit, vegetables, milk and milk products, and also educational and information measures. The main policy objective is to ensure that children's nutritional needs are met and healthy eating habits and lifestyles are established.

The European Parliament is scrutinising the implementation of the school scheme with a report on the subject that will be considered by its Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development in the autumn of 2022. This European implementation assessment (EIA), produced by EPRS in support of the committee's work, shows that despite a significant level of flexibility in terms of national-level implementation, schools and suppliers face a good deal of red tape, and this is seen as the main factor reducing the scheme's effectiveness. The EPRS findings were based partly on a purpose-made school survey. It collected more than 14 000 individual contributions from schools (including directors, teachers and parents) located in all Member States. The good response clearly demonstrates the importance the school community attributes to the EU school scheme.

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This research paper is a European Implementation Assessment carried out by the authors.