WRITTEN QUESTION E-3066/00

by Sergio Berlato (UEN) and Adriana Poli Bortone (UEN) to the Commission

(2 October 2000)

Subject: Seventh EU campaign to promote the consumption of olive oil

In view of the fact that:

- almost a third of the total budget ( 10,2 million of a total 35 million) for the seventh EU campaign Olive oil: the flavour that unites us has been allocated to Italy and Spain;

- these two Member States are the two biggest producers and the two biggest consumers of olive oil and therefore it seems wasteful to invest so significantly in promoting the consumption of a product which in Italy and Spain is already widespread and widely known;

- the previous six campaigns had poor results; they produced no significant increase in the consumption of olive oil in certain Member States, such as France, the United Kingdom or Germany, even though consumers there are highly interested in other constituents of the so-called Mediterranean diet and have developed a considerable taste for them;

can the Commission say:

1. what allocations have been earmarked for the promotion of olive oil in the other Member States, both in the seventh campaign and in the previous ones?

2. What publicity strategies and specific goals have these allocations been used for?

3. Who has been given responsibility for the promotional measures in these countries, and how were they selected?

4. Why has the task of disseminating scientific knowledge on olive oil to doctors and health professionals in the 15 Member States been assigned to Hill & Knowlton Eurosciences Communication (United Kingdom), in cooperation with the Institute of Atherosclerosis Research at the University of Munster (Germany), without the involvement of any body from the Mediterranean area?

5. What proportion of the allocations for these Member States has been used and, if there have been any savings, how were the funds originally allocated for olive oil promotion but not used for that purpose reallocated?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(20 November 2000)

1. The Commission is sending direct to the Honourable Member and to Parliament's Secretariat a table with the information requested.

2. The general objectives of the seventh campaign are to consolidate and develop the consumption in the main producer Member States (Greece, Spain, Italy and Portugal) and to boost the consumption in the other Member States. The primary target group is the consumers. The second target group is intermediaries between producers and consumers, such as journalists, the trade, doctors, nutritionists and chefs.

For the producer Member States the strategy aims to keep and encourage loyal consumers and to modernise the image of olive oil in order to attract the younger consumers. For the other Member States the strategies are to gain consumers who are presently not using olive oil and to increase the consumption frequency and the use of the product among existing consumers. Both taste and health aspects will be underlined. Given the importance of the market in the producer Member States, and in Germany, France, Ireland and the United Kingdom, advertising campaigns are being carried out in all these Member States. The campaign foresees medical and consumer public relations activities.

Consumption has risen significantly since 1990/1991, (e.g. France (+ 181 %), United Kingdom (+ 329 %) and Germany (+ 194 %)):

>TABLE>

3. The advertising and public relations activities, as well as the consumer panel studies were assigned by means of an open call for tender procedure. A list of all the agencies retained for the seventh campaign is sent direct to the Honourable Member and to Parliament's Secretariat. This list also comprises the budget foreseen for each of them and the Member State concerned.

4. The same procedure was used for the research institute, which will develop and up-date, collect and evaluate scientific material and examine, validate and control the health related material produced by the advertising and public relations agencies.

The dissemination of scientific knowledge on the nutritional values of olive oil has been awarded in the same way.

5. The seventh campaign is now running very well. It can therefore be foreseen that the available financial resources (35.3 M) will be completely used. This was also true for the sixth campaign.

The Commission is now preparing the selection of an independent institute to conduct evaluations in order to monitor the ongoing programme. This institute will also be chosen by tender procedure.