BRUSSELS, BELGIUM — The European Commission said on Sept. 3 that it will provide an additional €30 million of E.U. funding for CAP promotion programs starting in 2015, on top of the €60 million that is foreseen annually in the CAP budget. 

As these schemes are co-funded, this change is likely to mean an additional €60 million for promotion measures. Aimed at alleviating the impact of the Russian measures against certain E.U. agricultural products, this additional effort will start with the promotion programs that need to be submitted by the end of September.

"Promotion programs are one of the CAP instruments which can be used over the medium-term to address the market difficulties expected in several sectors as a result of the Russian ban, helping producers to find new sales outlets within and outside the E.U.,” said E.U. Commissioner for Agriculture & Rural Development Dacian Ciolo?. “Today's change means that €60 million of E.U. funding is available for promotion projects submitted by the end of this month. As this is co-funded by the promotion organizations themselves, this means that schemes worth at least €120 million could start running in 2015. I strongly encourage agricultural organizations to make the most of this opportunity and to present ambitious promotion schemes in the coming weeks.”

This announcement comes in addition to the exceptional market support measures for peaches & nectarines (€33 million) and other perishable fruit & vegetables (€125 million) already adopted and the activation of private storage aid for butter, skimmed milk powder and cheese.