Slovenská poľnohospodárska a potravinárska komora

Miesto stretnutia:  COPA-COGECA, Rue de Trèves 61, 1040 Brusel

Dátum stretnutia: 27. júna 2025

Účastník stretnutia: Konzorcium

Názov aktivity: Pracovná skupina pre propagáciu poľnohospodárskych výrobkov

Zhrnutie a závery:

1. Intervention by Elli Tsiforou, Secretary General of Copa and Cogeca 

• The Secretary General (SG) introduced herself and reaffirmed her commitment to the importance of the Working Parties. She highlighted that the MFF was fast approaching and that the news would likely not be good, with impacts on the structure and funding. Copa and Cogeca (CC) had raised alarm bells on this since October and has taken actions.
• On promotion policy (PP), the SG noted how it had been impacted by the war in Ukraine and highlighted the importance of promoting the excellence of EU products. The IFA noted that PP had already experienced cuts ahead of the MFF and that there could be more. They asked how CC would communicate on the MFF. The IFA further stressed that high level missions were important for PP, especially for Ireland and that the Commission (EC) should not withdraw support.
• Polish members supported these views and noted that the geopolitical situation would be more present for PP. They stated that other want access to the EU market but access to other markets for the EU was also important. It was also asked what was the position of Agri Ministers and what could be done in Member States (MS) to fight for ring fencing the budget with two pillars. The SG noted that the message should be brought to the highest level in MS and highlighted the ongoing petition.

2. Presentation by Dr Elia Del Pizzo and tour de table on simplifying promotion policy

• There was a presentation by Dr Elia Del Pizzo on olive oil. He was from UNAPROL which represented 100,000 olive growers. They supported the production of extra virgin olive oil and offered technical support. He noted that for PP, it was essential to work in different markets. This made it more effective and efficient. He highlighted that he had worked on projects in North America and Asia, covering both SIMPLE and MULTI programmes. He stated that MULTI programmes were more difficult to manage but that they could be more efficient.
• He continued by saying that for PP target markets had to be analysed as promotions in far away countries had to be related to consumers habits. He mentioned that promoting value, culture and diets were the concern and other countries specificities had to be respected.
• In new markets, knowledge of products can be limited and for olive oil, prices differed across MS. This was particularly noticeable during crisis. He stated that knowledge sharing was important and that PP targets could be simplified. On areas for improvement he noted force majeure, it worked well during COVID and for the war in Ukraine but should not be limited to geopolitical cases and could be used in the case of extreme weather events. He added that inflation could also be added to force majeure.

3. Presentation and Exchange of views on the Strategic role of promotion policy 

• The Secretariat presented a look at what the strategic role of PP could be going forward, how it could be used and highlighted the importance of the budget.
• The IFA pointed out that a fall in applications was taken as a lack of interest by the EC but it was often due to the burden of the application process. DAFC stressed that MULIT programmes were more complex and this was a barrier for applications. They also said that PP was about promoting products so promoting farmers themselves could be out of the scope and should be dealt with by other budget lines.
• MTK questioned that if reporting for MULTI programmes was decreased would it lead to heavy auditing. HCA stressed the need for a stronger budget and the need for simplification. IFA further said that an event such as tasting was simple so therefore the reporting requirements should also be simple. They reminded of the simplification package in autumn and that it should address this issue. IFA stressed that it was important to get products out there and to increase the awareness and DAFC called for more targeted markets.

4. Report back on the EU agri-food business delegation to Japan by Jerzy Wierzbicki

• Jerzy Wierzbicki gave a report back on the EU agri-food business delegation to Japan in which he took part. He noted that there were over 100 participants and that there was huge competition in this market for products. Some of the topics discussed included deforestation, in particular related to meat production. Reduction of emissions was becoming a bigger issue in Japan. Mr Wierzbicki highlighted that this was a good beginning of cooperation with Commission Hansen and that his approach was positive.
• Coldiretti said that the US would dedicate millions to promoting US products on international markets. EU products and promotion had to be protected. They stressed that it was important to insist on promoting products that are completely European, including raw materials, with no inputs from third countries.
• MTK stated that if there was no budget, there could be no action.

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