The European Commission has unveiled planned reforms to its School Fruit Scheme that would see it combined with another project, the School Milk Scheme, in a bid to boost the effectiveness of both schemes.
In a statement, the Commission said its objective in merging the two schemes was 'to improve their effectiveness, make them more efficient, streamline administrative requirements and reduce organisational burden'.
The European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Dacian Cioloş, commented: 'With the changes proposed today, we want to build on the existing schemes, to reverse the downward trend in consumption and raise awareness among children of the potential benefits of these products.'
He added: This is an important measure for bringing about sustained changes in children's eating habits and improving awareness of important challenges that society faces. I also hope that is will be a great opportunity to strengthen links between the farming community and children, their parents and teachers, especially in urban areas.'
Once approved, the joint scheme will have a combined budget of €230m per school year, shared into €150m for fruit and vegetables and €80m for milk, compared with €197m (€122m and €75m respectively) in the 2014 budget.
The proposal will now be submitted to the European Parliament and to the Council.
Designed to improve the health of young Europeans by reversing the continued decline in fresh produce consumption and alarming rise in childhood obesity, both the fruit and milk schemes are also aimed at strengthening links between schoolchildren and agriculture.
The School Milk Scheme was set up in 1977 and now reaches 20m children.
Established in 2009, the School Fruit Scheme currently reaches 8.5m children.
A video of the European Commission announcement can be viewed here: Live press briefing, 30 January 2014
