In the State of the Union debate at the European Parliament this week, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a "boosted" agri-food promotion budget and the launch of a new "Buy European Food" branding for the EU funded promotion policy. While these announcements were presented as positive developments, Freshfel Europe warns that those raise important concerns about both the budget's increase real scale and the implication of the unexpected strategic rebranding of EU promotion policy for agricultural products.
Freshfel Europe is reaching out to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen following her announcement of a "boosted" agri-food promotion budget and the launch of a new "Buy European Food" campaign, unveiled during the European Parliament Plenary session on Wednesday.
The European promotion policy is an important financial instrument within the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), with a budget of more than 180 Mio €. the fruit and vegetable sector is one of the main beneficiary of this policy. Within this budget, the multi promotion budget initially set at 84.4 Mio €, out of which 9 Mio € allocated to fruit and vegetable promotion is under pressure. In 2025, the entire "multi" budget was suspended due to a reallocation of funds to address the consequences of the war in Ukraine. At the last minutes, only 40 million € was finally made available— representing a 53% cut from the original budget allocation for multi programme. This created planning challenges that require collaborative efforts between partners. Looking ahead, the situation remains highly uncertain. The 2026 annual budget is currently still set at zero, with uncertain options of last-minute partial re-allocations. This creates deep instability and uncertainty for the sector.
Philippe Binard, General Delegate of Freshfel Europe commented: "When the Commission President promises a "boosted budget," will it effectively increase the total promotion envelop of 180 Mio €? Will it only restore part of the multi budget previously cut by the Commission or will it indeed be a real boost of the 84.4 Mio € historically available? When committing to boostbudget, words matter on what it really mean for business. Predictable and reliable promotion funding are essential for the European fruit and vegetable sector to plan and invest effectively in the promotion of fresh produce". The EU promotion budget is for years an essential instrument of the CAP for generic and usually unbranded like fresh produce operating with tight margin. A well-funded promotion budget is a must for the fruit and vegetable sector.
Freshfel Europe is calling the European Commission to provide transparency on the actual budget increase, with clear figures and projection. A robust budget for fruit and vegetables would be coherent with the European Commission ambition to shift towards healthier and most sustainable diet. Freshfel Europe also calls the Commission for the long term efficiency of its policy by maintaining continuity of its well -established brands " Enjoy its from Europe".
For more information:
Philippe Binard
Freshfel Europe
Tel: +32 (0) 2777 1580
[email protected]
www.freshfel.org