| 1. | in Section IVa of Chapter IV of Title I of Part II:
| (a) | the following subsection shall be inserted after Article 103g:
‘Subsection IIa
School Fruit Scheme
Article 103 - ga
Aid for the supply of fruit and vegetable, processed fruit and vegetable and banana products to children
1. Under conditions to be determined by the Commission, from the 2009-2010 school year onwards, Community aid shall be granted for:
| (a) | the supply to children in educational establishments, including nurseries, other pre-school establishments, primary and secondary schools, of products of the fruit and vegetables, processed fruit and vegetables, and bananas sectors; and |
| (b) | certain related costs of logistics and distribution, equipment, communication, monitoring and evaluation. |
2. Member States, at national or regional level, wishing to participate in the scheme shall draw up a prior strategy for its implementation containing, in particular, the budget of their scheme including: the Community and national contributions, the duration, the target group, the eligible products and the involvement of relevant stakeholders. They shall also provide for the accompanying measures necessary to make the scheme effective.
3. When drawing up their strategies, Member States shall draw up a list of products of the fruit and vegetables, processed fruit and vegetables, and bananas sectors that will be eligible under their respective schemes. This list, however, shall not include products excluded by a measure adopted by the Commission under Article 103h(f). They shall choose their products on the basis of objective criteria which may include seasonality, availability of produce or environmental concerns. In this connection, Member States may give preference to products of Community origin.
4. The Community aid referred to in paragraph 1 shall neither:
| (a) | exceed EUR 90 million per school year; nor |
| (b) | exceed 50 % of the costs of supply and related costs referred to in paragraph 1, or 75 % of such costs in the regions eligible under the Convergence Objective in accordance with Article 5(1) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006 of 11 July 2006 laying down general provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund and the Cohesion Fund (9), and in the outermost regions referred to in Article 299(2) of the Treaty; nor |
| (c) | cover costs other than the costs of supply and related costs referred to in paragraph 1. |
5. The Community aid referred to in paragraph 1 shall be allocated to each Member State on the basis of objective criteria based on their proportion of six to ten year old children. However, Member States participating in the scheme shall each receive at least EUR 175 000 of Community aid. Member States participating in the scheme shall apply every year for Community aid on the basis of their strategy. Following the requests of the Member States, the Commission shall decide on definitive allocations, within the appropriations available in the budget.
6. Community aid referred to in paragraph 1 shall not be used to replace funding for any existing national school fruit schemes or other school distribution schemes that include fruit. However, if a Member State already has a scheme in place that would be eligible for Community aid under this Article and intends to extend it or make it more effective, including as regards the target group of the scheme, its duration or eligible products, Community aid may be granted provided that the limits of paragraph 4(b) are abided by as regards the proportion of Community aid to the total national contribution. In this case, the Member State shall indicate in its strategy how it intends to extend its scheme or make it more effective.
7. Member States may, in addition to Community aid, grant national aid for the supply of products and related costs referred to in paragraph 1. These costs may also be covered by contributions from the private sector. Member States may also grant national aid for financing the accompanying measures referred to in paragraph 2.
8. The Community School Fruit Scheme shall be without prejudice to any separate national school fruit schemes which are compatible with Community law.
9. The Community may also finance, under Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 1290/2005, information, monitoring and evaluation measures relating to the School Fruit Scheme, including raising public awareness of it, and related networking measures.
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| (b) | the following heading shall be inserted before Article 103h: |
| (c) | in Article 103h, the following point shall be added:
| ‘(f) | provisions concerning the School Fruit Scheme referred to in Article 103ga, including: a list of products or ingredients that should be excluded from the School Fruit Scheme, the definitive allocation of aid between Member States, financial and budgetary management, and the related costs, the strategies of the Member States, accompanying measures and information, monitoring and evaluation and networking measures.’; |
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