Developing local food systems by creating a new quality mark within the European system and supporting farmers who want to add value to these products using various forms of support under the rural development policy.
Le 6 décembre 2013, la commission a publié son rapport au parlement européen et au conseil sur l’opportunité d’établir un système d’étiquetage applicable à l’agriculture locale et à la vente directe qui mentionne les recommandations formulées par le Comité des Régions .
Dans son rapport, la Commission a fourni des éléments factuels en vue de faciliter le débat devant déterminer s’il convient de créer une nouvelle étiquette européenne et portant également sur les questions plus vastes de l’agriculture locale et de la vente directe.
THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS considers that:
- local food systems support the local and regional economy. These systems are of the utmost importance in less-favoured regions; they stimulate the exploitation of local potential and help to improve the image of unappreciated and often neglected regions;
- short distribution channels lead to greater interaction between consumers and producers. They create relationships based on trust and make products easily traceable by consumers. They also provide a basic level of food sovereignty;
- local food systems bring environmental benefits through more sustainable production systems;
- the European Commission should therefore:
1. suggest that Member States should consider targets for developing local food systems in their Rural Development Strategy, to be executed by LRAs with support from the EU and national authorities;
2. adopt definitions of "Local Food Products" and "Local Food Systems", and introduce a new logo and identify a common symbol and scheme identity for local products, to be added to the Agriculture Product Quality Policy regulation;
3. introduce a direct marketing scheme for registered local products, to be operated by Member States at LRA level;
4. explore whether Article 26 of Directive 2004/18/EC on the coordination of procedures for the award of public contracts could be amended such that "locally produced" can be a standard selection criterion in tenders for the supply of food to, for instance, schools, nursing homes and public facilities.