Commission communication concerning State involvement in the promotion of agricultural and fisheries products
Date: 1986-10-28
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: European Union membership, advertising malpractice, agricultural product, fishery product













EUR-Lex - 31986Y1028(01) - EN






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31986Y1028(01)

Commission communication concerning State involvement in the promotion of agricultural and fisheries products  


Official Journal C 272 , 28/10/1986 P. 0003 - 0005 





Commission communication concerning State  involvement in the promotion of agricultural and fisheries products(86/C 272/03)The  Director-General for Agriculture wrote to the Permanent Representatives of the Member States of the  Community on 18 February 1985 drawing attention to certain matters relating to the involvement of  Member States in the promotion of agricultural products, in particular the fact that the Court of  Justice had held in Case 222/82 (Apple & Pear Development Council) that in certain circumstances  these promotional campaigns could infringe Article 30 of the EEC Treaty. Governments of Member  States were requested to supply details of their involvement in these promotional campaigns, which  request was subsequently complied with. Nine of the ten Member States to which the request of the  Commission's services was addressed admitted that their public authorities were involved in the  promotion of agricultural products on their domestic markets and they all maintained that the  campaigns resulting from this involvement did not overstep the limits laid down by the Court of  Justice in Case 222/82. The Commission has, since receiving the Member States answers, carried out  an examination of examples of the relevant publicity material. The Commission has noted that much  of this material places emphasis on the national origin of the product being promoted, in  particular by the use of the name of the Member State, national flag or other national emblem. The  Commission has also noted that in some Member States fisheries products are promoted in an  analogous way to agricultural products. Although the Commission recognizes that the involvement of  the Member States in the promotion of agricultural and fisheries products can be beneficial as far  as Community policies in those sectors are concerned, it nevertheless fears that some of the  campaigns presently being organized on Member States' domestic markets may overstep the limits  permitted by the case-law of the Court of Justice. The Commission has therefore felt it to be  appropriate to draw up the guidelines to Member States on this matter which are annexed. The  Commission is of the opinion that compliance with these guidelines in respect of campaigns  promoting agricultural and fisheries products should avoid breaches of Article 30 of the EEC  Treaty. The Commission reserves the right to lay down further guidelines in the future if  circumstances require, and to open Article 169 proceedings if promotional campaigns transgress  Article 30. This communication is without prejudice to the position of the Commission with regard  to other aspects of Community law affecting this subject matter, notably the provisions of the EEC  Treaty governing State aid. ANNEX GUIDELINES FOR MEMBER STATES' INVOLVEMENT IN PROMOTION OF  AGRICULTURAL AND FISHERIES PRODUCTS - ARTICLE 30 ASPECTS 1. Introduction It is clear from the  Jurisprudence of the Court of Justice notably in cases 249/81 ('buy Irish') and 222/82 (Apple and  Pear Development Council) that direct or indirect involvement of Member States in promotional  campaigns for agricultural products on their national markets may in certain criteria are not  respected involve a breach of Article 30 of the EEC Treaty. The Commission is aware that many such  campaigns presently exist within the Community and considers it appropriate to issue the following  guidelines to the Member States. In the interpretation of these guidelines the intention or implied  intention of promotional material is to be judged by the 'message' put over by that material  through both words and visual images. 2. Guidelines 2. 1. Promotional actions which are clearly not  open to objection under Article 30. 2. 1. 1. Export promotional campaigns organized directly or  indirectly by one Member State on the market of another Member State. 2. 1. 2. Promotional  campaigns organized on the home market of a Member State which advertise the product in a purely  generic manner making no reference whatsoever to its national origin. 2. 1. 3. Campaigns on the  home market promoting specific qualities or varieties of products even though they are typical of  national production. (These are campaigns which make no specific references to the national origin  of the product other than which may be evident from the references made to the qualities or  varieties concerned or to the normal designation of the product) . 2. 2. Promotional actions which  clearly infringe Article 30 2. 2. 1. Promotional campaigns which advise consumers to buy national  products solely because of their national origin. 2. 2. 2. promotional campaigns intended to  discourage the purchase of products from other Member States or disparage those products in the  eyes of consumers (negative promotion) . Positive statements about a Member State's product should  not be phrased in such a way to imply that other Member State's products are necessarily inferior.  2. 3. Promotional campaigns on a Member State's home market which, because of the references made  to the national origin of the products may, unless certain restraints are observed, be open to  objection under Article 30 2. 3. 1. Promotional campaigns drawing attention to the varietis or  qualities of products produced within a Member State are not in practice limited to national or  regional specialities and frequently draw attention to the particular qualities of products  produced within a Member State and the national origin of the products, even though those products  and their qualities are similar to those of products produced elsewhere. If undue emphasis is  placed on the national origin of the product in such promotional campaigns there is a danger of  breach of Article 30. The Commission therefore requests Member States to ensure particularly that  the following guideline is strictly respected. Identification of the producing country by word or  symbol may be made providing that a reasonable balance between references, on the one hand to the  qualities and varieties of the product and, on the other hand, its national origin is kept. The  references to national origin should be subsidiary to the main message put over to consumers by the  campaign and not constitute the principal reason why consumers are being advised to buy the  product. 2. 3. 2. Qualities of the products which it is permissible to mention include taste,  aroma, freshness, maturity, value for money, nutritional value, varieties available, usefulness  (recipes, etc. ) . To be avoided are superlatives such as 'the best', 'the tastiest', 'the finest'  and expressions such as 'the real thing' or promotional campaigns which, because of the mention of  the national origin, result in the product promoted being compared with the products of other  Member States. References to quality control should only be made where the product is subjected to  a genuine and objective system of control of its qualities. 2. 3. 3. Certain promotional campaigns  mentioning the national origin of agricultural products may, even though they respect the  abovementioned criteria, nevertheless infringe Article 30 of the EEC Treaty if they reflect a  considered intention of a Member State to substitute domestic products for products imported from  other Member States (see case No 249/81 Commission v. Ireland (1982) ECR P. 4005 and following  particularly P. 4022 ground No 23) Such an intention may for example be presumed from the massive  nature of a particular promotional campaign.