PURPOSE: to establish a common organisation of agricultural markets and on specific provisions for certain agricultural products (Single CMO Regulation) in order to set up a School Fruit Scheme (SFS).

LEGISLATIVE ACT: Council Regulation (EC) No 13/2009 amending Regulations (EC) No 1290/2005 on the financing of the common agricultural policy and (EC) No 1234/2007 establishing a common organisation of agricultural markets and on specific provisions for certain agricultural products (Single CMO Regulation) in order to set up a School Fruit Scheme.

CONTENT: the Council adopted a Regulation on the setting up of a school fruit and vegetables scheme. This programme is intended to effect a lasting increase in the proportion of fruit and vegetables in children's diets, at the age when they are developing their eating habits, and thus to contribute to the fight against obesity.

Its main features are as follows:

children aged 6 to 10 are the main target of the programme, but Member States may extend supply to creches, other pre-school establishments, and primary and secondary schools; those Member States which wish to improve the programme may, in addition to the Community aid, grant national aid for the supply of the abovementioned products, and fund certain related costs. Thus they may grant national aid to finance accompanying measures; Member States may choose from fresh or processed fruit or vegetables, including bananas, depending on objective criteria which include which fruit are in season, the availability of products, or environmental concerns. In this respect, Member States may give preference to products of Community origin; the Community aid is fixed at EUR 90 million per school year . The aid cannot exceed 50 % of the costs of supply and related costs (75 % of such costs in convergence regions and the outermost regions), or cover costs other than the costs of supply and related costs explicitly referred to in the Regulation; given the limited budget, Member States may call for contributions from the private sector; any national programme already in place will not be eligible, unless Member State concerned wishes to extend the programme in question or to increase its effectiveness ("additionality" of the aid); the programme will apply with effect from the 2009/2010 school year and the Commission will present a report on its implementation to the Council and the Parliament by 31 August 2012.

ENTRY INTO FORCE: 16/01/2009.

The European Parliament adopted, by 586 votes to 47 with 41 abstentions, a legislative resolution, amending the proposal for a Council regulation amending Regulations (EC) No 1290/2005 on the financing of the common agricultural policy and (EC) No 1234/2007 establishing a common organisation of agricultural markets and on specific provisions for certain agricultural products (Single CMO Regulation) in order to set up a School Fruit Scheme. The report had been tabled for consideration in plenary by Niels BUSK (ADLE, DK), on behalf of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development

The main amendments – adopted in the framework of the consultation procedure – are as follows:

Fruit and vegetable of EU origin : Parliament states that Community aid shall be granted for supplying certain products of the fruit and vegetables and bananas sectors of EU origin, selected by the Commission, to be determined in more detail by the Member States. The Competent committee had wanted only fresh products to be selected for the programme, but this was rejected by the plenary.

Selection criteria : the Commission and Member States shall select fruit and vegetables, which shall be as fresh as possible, seasonal, and obtainable at low cost, on the basis of health criteria, such as the fewest possible unnatural and unhealthy additives. Local products should be used as a matter of priority in order to avoid unnecessary transport and the resulting environmental pollution. Organic and local fruit and vegetables shall, if available, be given particular consideration.

Budget: the Commission had proposed an allocation of EUR 90 million per school year. Members note that this corresponds to one piece of fruit one day a week for 30 weeks per year and covers children aged 6 to 10 years. They consider that there must be a far greater allocation of funds. A school fruit scheme should consist of a portion of fruit per pupil per day and not only be aimed at school children aged 6 to 10 years, as the Commission proposes, but also at pre-school children. The Community contribution should be EUR 500 million per school year.

Strategy: Member States, at national or regional level, wishing to participate in the scheme shall draw up a prior strategy for its implementation, taking account of the soil and climate conditions under which fruit and vegetables are produced. In this connection, Community preference of the products concerned shall be ensured. Under this strategy, Member States shall determine, inter alia: the products to be distributed, having regard to the seasonal and local nature of the products; the age groups of the beneficiary school population; the educational establishments participating in the Scheme. In accordance with objective criteria, Member States shall give priority to locally produced, traditional fruit and vegetables and support smaller farms in implementing the scheme.

Accompanying measures : these shall include the provision of health and dietary advice, information on the health benefits of fruit, appropriate to the age of the students, as well as information on the particular characteristics of organic farming.

Report: the evaluation report must examine: (a) the extent to which opting for national cofinancing, by means of a parental contribution, has or has not influenced the outreach and effectiveness of the scheme; (b) the relevance and impact of national accompanying measures, in particular the way in which the School Fresh Fruit Scheme and accompanying information on a healthy diet are incorporated into the national curriculum.

EU initiative : a new recital states that the School Fruit Scheme should be clearly identified as an EU initiative aimed at combating obesity in young people and developing their taste for fruit and vegetables. It should also serve, with the aid of appropriate educational programmes, to make children aware of the changing seasons in the course of a year. To that end, education authorities should, as a matter of priority, ensure the distribution of seasonal fruit, giving preference to a varied range of fruits so as to enable children to discover different tastes.

Complementarity: the scheme must not replace current national funding for existing multi-annual School Fruit Schemes or other school distribution schemes that include fruit. Community financing should be supplementary in nature and is reserved for new schemes or the extension of existing schemes.

The Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development adopted a report drafted by Niels BUSK (ADLE, DK), and amended the proposal for a Council regulation amending Regulations (EC) No 1290/2005 on the financing of the common agricultural policy and (EC) No 1234/2007 establishing a common organisation of agricultural markets and on specific provisions for certain agricultural products (Single CMO Regulation) in order to set up a School Fruit Scheme.

The main amendments – adopted in the framework of the consultation procedure – are as follows:

Processed fruit and vegetable : processed fruit and vegetable products are of lesser nutritional value and should be excluded from this Regulation. In view of the objective of achieving healthier eating for Europe's children, only the free distribution of fresh fruit and vegetables should be supported, selected by the Commission, to be determined in more detail by Member States.

Selection criteria : the Commission and Member States shall select vegetables and fruit, which shall be as fresh as possible, seasonal, and obtainable at low cost, on the basis of health criteria, such as the fewest possible unnatural and unhealthy additives. Local products should be used as a matter of priority in order to avoid needless transport and the resulting environmental pollution. Organic and local fruit and vegetables shall, if available, be given particular consideration.

Budget: the Commission had proposed an allocation of EUR 90 million per school year. Members note that this corresponds to one piece of fruit one day a week for 30 weeks per year and covers children aged 6 to 10 years. They consider that there must be a far greater allocation of funds. A school fruit scheme should consist of a portion of fruit per pupil per day and not only be aimed at school children aged 6 to 10 years, as the Commission proposes, but also at pre-school children. The Community contribution should be EUR 500 million per school year.

Strategy: Member States wishing to participate in the scheme shall draw up a prior strategy for its implementation, taking account of the soil and climate conditions under which fruit and vegetables are produced . In this connection, Community preference shall apply to the products concerned. Member States shall determine, inter alia: (a) the products to be distributed, taking account of the fact that seasonal and local products are concerned; (b) the age groups of the beneficiary school population; (c) the schools participating in the Scheme .

Accompanying measures : these shall include the provision of health and dietary advice, information on the health benefits of fruit, appropriate to the age of the students, as well as information on the particular characteristics of organic farming. They should give priority to pre-school and primary-school children, to whom fruit should be distributed free of charge on a daily basis.

Report: the evaluation report must examine: (a) the extent to which opting for national cofinancing, by means of a parental contribution, has or has not influenced the outreach and effectiveness of the scheme; (b) the relevance and impact of national accompanying measures, in particular the way in which the School Fresh Fruit Scheme and accompanying information on a healthy diet are incorporated into the national curriculum.

Lastly, a new recital states that the School Fresh Fruit Scheme should be clearly identified as an EU initiative aimed at combating obesity in young people and developing their sense of taste. It should also serve to make children aware of the changing seasons in the course of a year. To that end, education authorities should, as a matter of priority, distribute seasonal fruit, giving preference to a varied range of fruits so as to enable children to discover different tastes.

The Council held a policy debate on a proposal designed to allow co-financing of a scheme to distribute free fruit and vegetables in schools.

All delegations endorsed this educational and nutritional approach, but Ministers wanted to clarify some political aspects of the proposal, on the basis of a questionnaire drawn up by the Presidency.

As regards the finance and budget related aspects of the proposed scheme, a large number of delegations would prefer a more generous budget, in particular to cover ancillary costs (costs of administration and transport). They wanted the utmost flexibility as regards the choice of target populations or eligible products, which some Ministers thought could be made at regional or local level.

The principle of additionality and the ability to continue with national schemes begun before the application of the new Regulation were also recurrent concerns.

Lastly, as regards the origin of the products covered by the scheme, the vast majority of delegations wanted to give preference to Community origin, along the lines of the school milk scheme. However, some delegations and the Commission representative were open-minded on this question, in particular in order to take account of the seasonal or geographical availability of certain fruit (bananas).

PURPOSE: to establish a common organisation of agricultural markets and on specific provisions for certain agricultural products (Single CMO Regulation) in order to set up a School Fruit Scheme (SFS).

PROPOSED ACT: Council Regulation.

BACKGROUND: the importance of fruit and vegetables consumption as part of a healthy diet is advocated by the Commission White Paper 'A strategy for Europe on Nutrition, Overweight and Obesity and related health issues' (see INI/2007/2285 ), which stresses the need for coherent action at European level and draws attention to the role the CAP could play in shaping the European diet, especially to combat obesity and overweight. When approving the CMO Fruit and Vegetables reform, the Council invited the Commission come forward with a proposal for a school fruit scheme as soon as possible based on an impact assessment of the benefits, practicability and administrative costs involved. The European Parliament, in its report on the EU’s draft 2008 budget, also emphasised its strong commitment to the proper budgetary endowment of funds for school fruit and vegetables.

CONTENT: the School Fruit (and vegetables) Scheme at EU level aims to provide a policy and funding framework for Member State initiatives aimed at durably increasing the share of fruit and vegetables in the diets of children, at the stage when their eating habits are formed. This would represent an investment in the future, by helping to avoid or reduce health expenditure resulting from poor diet. Furthermore, the positive impact on consumption could contribute to meeting CAP objectives. As obesity tends to cluster in social disadvantaged groups, the School Fruit Scheme would also have a positive social impact, reducing health inequalities.

In this context the Commission proposes to set up a School Fruit Scheme which, for maximum effectiveness, brings together the three options in a mutually supportive package. It comprises the following elements:

· free distribution of fruits and vegetables in schools : Community aid should be granted to co-finance the supply of fruit and vegetables to pupils of the 6-10 core age group in educational establishments (schools), the related logistics and monitoring and evaluation. For this purpose, it is proposed to provide for a budgetary allocation of a total amount of EUR 90 million per year under Title I of Council Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007. It would allow for the extension of existing SFS in some Member States, and the establishment of programmes in Member States without such programmes, often due to limited budgetary means. The Community co-financing rate would be at the level of 50% and 75% in convergence regions;

· accompanying measures : an obligation for Member States, at national or regional level, to develop a strategy in consultation with public health and education authorities, industry and interested stakeholders. The strategy should lay down in which manner a School Fruit Scheme could be best implemented and integrated into the school curriculum. As part of the implementation it would be an obligation to highlight the EU involvement. The accompanying measures would primarily be nationally financed;

· networking activities , in order to motivate the exchange of information and knowledge among SFS actors and stimulate public awareness. This allocation should amount to EUR 1.3 million;

· promotion of agricultural products , which could be supported in the framework of the EU promotion of agricultural products. In particular, Member States could use this framework to carry out the necessary accompanying measures aimed ad raising awareness on the beneficial effects of fruit and vegetables consumption. The recent fruit and vegetables reform increased the indicative the indicative budget for the promotion of these products by EUR 6 million;

· monitoring and evaluation : with the purpose of establishing solid data for further research on the effectiveness of a School Fruit Scheme in its different variants and for the exchange of "best practices", monitoring and evaluation should form an integral part of an EU scheme.

All schemes would consequently include the three elements:

1) the free distribution of fruit (and/or vegetables) in educational establishments (schools),

2) a series of accompanying measures;

3) monitoring and evaluation.

PURPOSE: to establish a common organisation of agricultural markets and on specific provisions for certain agricultural products (Single CMO Regulation) in order to set up a School Fruit Scheme (SFS).

PROPOSED ACT: Council Regulation.

BACKGROUND: the importance of fruit and vegetables consumption as part of a healthy diet is advocated by the Commission White Paper 'A strategy for Europe on Nutrition, Overweight and Obesity and related health issues' (see INI/2007/2285 ), which stresses the need for coherent action at European level and draws attention to the role the CAP could play in shaping the European diet, especially to combat obesity and overweight. When approving the CMO Fruit and Vegetables reform, the Council invited the Commission come forward with a proposal for a school fruit scheme as soon as possible based on an impact assessment of the benefits, practicability and administrative costs involved. The European Parliament, in its report on the EU’s draft 2008 budget, also emphasised its strong commitment to the proper budgetary endowment of funds for school fruit and vegetables.

CONTENT: the School Fruit (and vegetables) Scheme at EU level aims to provide a policy and funding framework for Member State initiatives aimed at durably increasing the share of fruit and vegetables in the diets of children, at the stage when their eating habits are formed. This would represent an investment in the future, by helping to avoid or reduce health expenditure resulting from poor diet. Furthermore, the positive impact on consumption could contribute to meeting CAP objectives. As obesity tends to cluster in social disadvantaged groups, the School Fruit Scheme would also have a positive social impact, reducing health inequalities.

In this context the Commission proposes to set up a School Fruit Scheme which, for maximum effectiveness, brings together the three options in a mutually supportive package. It comprises the following elements:

· free distribution of fruits and vegetables in schools : Community aid should be granted to co-finance the supply of fruit and vegetables to pupils of the 6-10 core age group in educational establishments (schools), the related logistics and monitoring and evaluation. For this purpose, it is proposed to provide for a budgetary allocation of a total amount of EUR 90 million per year under Title I of Council Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007. It would allow for the extension of existing SFS in some Member States, and the establishment of programmes in Member States without such programmes, often due to limited budgetary means. The Community co-financing rate would be at the level of 50% and 75% in convergence regions;

· accompanying measures : an obligation for Member States, at national or regional level, to develop a strategy in consultation with public health and education authorities, industry and interested stakeholders. The strategy should lay down in which manner a School Fruit Scheme could be best implemented and integrated into the school curriculum. As part of the implementation it would be an obligation to highlight the EU involvement. The accompanying measures would primarily be nationally financed;

· networking activities , in order to motivate the exchange of information and knowledge among SFS actors and stimulate public awareness. This allocation should amount to EUR 1.3 million;

· promotion of agricultural products , which could be supported in the framework of the EU promotion of agricultural products. In particular, Member States could use this framework to carry out the necessary accompanying measures aimed ad raising awareness on the beneficial effects of fruit and vegetables consumption. The recent fruit and vegetables reform increased the indicative the indicative budget for the promotion of these products by EUR 6 million;

· monitoring and evaluation : with the purpose of establishing solid data for further research on the effectiveness of a School Fruit Scheme in its different variants and for the exchange of "best practices", monitoring and evaluation should form an integral part of an EU scheme.

All schemes would consequently include the three elements:

1) the free distribution of fruit (and/or vegetables) in educational establishments (schools),

2) a series of accompanying measures;

3) monitoring and evaluation.