Press Release: Information Note of the European Court of Auditors concerning Special Report No 10/2009 ‘Information provision and promotion measures for agricultural products’

The European Union has been implementing and co-financing promotion measures for agricultural products since the beginning of the 1980s. From 1999 on, the existing arrangements under the various common market organisations (CMO) were brought together into one single scheme. These information and promotion measures are mainly programmes of between one and three years co-financed up to a maximum of 50 % by the European Union and destined both for the internal market and for third countries. They may consist of public relations, promotional or publicity actions, which must highlight the advantages of EU products, especially in terms of quality, hygiene, food safety, nutrition, labelling, animal welfare or respect for the environment. In 2008 the Court examined the effectiveness of these information provision and promotion measures and the regularity of the expenditure earmarked for this purpose. In 2008 the Court examined the effectiveness of these information provision and promotion measures and the regularity of the expenditure earmarked for this purpose.