Wine is part of the horizontal promotion funds allocated by the European Commission

Good and long-awaited news for the world of wine, from Europe no exclusion for horizontal promotion funds: the European Commission will allocate 185.9 million euros in 2024 to finance activities for the promotion of sustainable and high quality agri-food products of the EU within its borders and around the world. Wine will be among them, as Federvini points out: “The European Commission recently adopted the 2024 work program on the horizontal promotion policy for agri-food products, eliminating from the text of the measure the reference to the correlation between cancer risk and alcoholic beverages that inhibited the participation of some sectors”.
The 2024 work program on promotion policy, adopted by the Commission, aims to develop new market opportunities, for farmers and the entire supply chain, by consolidating existing realities. The amounts available for the campaigns selected for 2024 are divided between promotion on the internal market of the European Union and promotion in third countries, with allocations of €81.3 million and €85.1 million, respectively. Outside the European Union, countries and regions with high growth potential are considered the main targets for promotion: these include China, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and North America. The United Kingdom, which absorbs more than 20% of EU-27 exports, remains one of the main export markets for EU agri-food products.
The European Commission co-finances up to 80% of the selected projects submitted by private operators and, in addition, manages its own communication campaigns in third countries through participation in agribusiness fairs, organization of trade delegations to third countries, and drafting market access manuals aimed at exporters. The promotion campaigns selected in 2024 should feature products from sustainable farming practices that help reduce dependence on pesticides and antimicrobials, minimize fertilization and water pollution, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, strengthen organic farming, and improve animal welfare.
Specifically, 62 million euros will be allocated for sustainably produced agri-food products, including 42 million for organic products. One of the expected results is greater recognition of the European Union organic logo by European consumers and a further increase in the consumption of organic products. And again, increased awareness regarding the European Union's quality schemes and products registered as Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) and Traditional Specialty Guaranteed (TSG), currently more than 3,500 names of food and beverage products are protected.
Promoting the consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables, in the context of a balanced diet, also remains a cornerstone of the promotion policy; according to the latest review of the program’s implementation, fruits and vegetables were the products that benefited most from co-financing the promotion policy, accounting for between 19% and 30% of its total annual budget between 2016 and 2019. The 2024 work program will allocate more than 18 million euros to the promotion of fresh fruits and vegetables, however, this does not exclude that campaigns for these products will also receive funding from the remaining promotion budget.
Calls for proposals for the 2024 campaigns will be open, from January 18 to May 14, 2024, and will be administered by the Agenzia Esecutiva Europea per la Ricerca (European Research Executive Agency).