Annexes to COM(2016)83 - Implementation of Article 45 of Regulation 1306/2013 on information measures relating to the common agricultural policy - Main contents
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This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
| dossier | COM(2016)83 - Implementation of Article 45 of Regulation 1306/2013 on information measures relating to the common agricultural policy. |
|---|---|
| document | COM(2016)83  |
| date | February 23, 2016 |
The orientation of this campaign reflected the findings of a number of Eurobarometer surveys on agriculture and the CAP in recent years: the guiding principles and aims of the CAP are supported by a majority of people but many of them are unaware of the policy itself. Therefore the campaign aimed to raise awareness of the CAP and show that it addresses citizens' concerns.
The campaign promoted among the broader public, in particular younger urban dwellers, the importance of sustainable farming, not only for the supply of healthy food but also for the environment, the countryside and the economy. The channels of communication used included online promotion and publications, promotional and audio-visual material for websites, TV and cinemas as well as targeted activities at events organised for the general public in different Member States.
To ensure the highest possible cost-efficiency, it was decided to run the cinema campaign in the EU-15 and the TV campaign in the EU-13. The cinema campaign reached 10.300.385 people, the TV campaign 24.296.390 people. The online campaign was promoted across all Member States, and generated a further 68.395.019 Ad Impressions and 241.320 effective clicks. The campaign furthermore included the design and development of an educational pack for school children, and a toolkit to facilitate farmers to encourage members of the public to visit their farm (open farms). Both information measures are still being developed.
As part of the communication activities linked to the reformed CAP, DG AGRI also organised its "Green Team" operation which consisted of DG AGRI senior officials providing technical briefings to stakeholders and journalists in the Member States about the different aspects of the reform. When the political agreement was reached in June 2013, nine Member States were visited by "Green Team" officials from DG AGRI. A second wave of visits was launched in November 2013 to cover the remaining 18 Member States. Six Green Team Ambassadors (Team Leaders) and 14 advisors travelled to eight Member States from November 2013 to April 2014 to present and explain in depth the newly reformed CAP to stakeholders including farmers, public authorities and other bodies. The Green Team Ambassadors helped to convey the messages of the newly reformed CAP taking into account also the national context.
In 2014 also, DG AGRI deepened it cooperation with other Commission departments, for example, working closely with DG Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE) in organising a common stand at large scale agricultural fairs such as "Grüne Woche" in Berlin, the "Salon de l'Agriculture" in Paris and "Salone del Gusto" in Turin. This cooperation helped provide the general public with a more coherent image of the European Commission, under the theme "From farm to fork". It resulted in improved efficiency in the deployment of human and financial resources used to represent the Commission at these important fairs.
d) Horizontal communication activities
Publications
In the reporting period, publications continued to reflect the legislative programme. This included texts concerning the farm accountancy data network (FADN), the forestry policy, young farmers, the monitoring and evaluation framework of the CAP, etc. The publications were widely distributed via the representations of the European Commission in the Member States, the European Documentation Centres as well as during some fairs and other public events where DG AGRI was present.
Website and Audio-visual
In addition to the online activities within the above mentioned projects, DG AGRI continued devoting resources to the Europa website "Agriculture and Rural Development", notably as an important source of specialist information on the CAP and rural development, as well as to social media accounts and the Commissioner's website (until 1/11/2014 when DG COMM took over all Commissioners' websites).
The switch-over to a completely new web presence (new corporate design, user-centred approach, new web content management system, streamlined and updated content, all in line with the Commission's Digital Transformation initiative) is currently under way.
In addition, a Video News Release (VNR) was produced in June 2013 on the occasion of the political agreement on the CAP reform. This VNR showcased the diversity of European agriculture while explaining the CAP and giving concrete examples from four different Member States of how the policy brings practical benefits.
Opinion polls
In May 2013, a special Eurobarometer survey was carried out to monitor and evaluate the opinion of citizens on the CAP and related issues. The survey was carried out in all EU Member States based on responses of 28.000 citizens. The objective was to continue tracking EU public opinion on a range of issues relevant to the Commission's work in this field with a view to better target the Commission's communication actions in relation with the EU's major policies, including the CAP.
Visits
In the reporting period, DG AGRI continued to receive groups of visitors, comprising principally farmers, farmers' representatives, students, regional and local representatives, journalists and academics. The purpose of the visits was to explain and deepen understanding of the CAP, including rural development, and the rationale for its reform. In total, 220 visitor groups (comprising 4919 individual persons) were hosted in the DG AGRI premises during 2013 and 2014.
EXPO Milano
Preparatory work for the European Commission's presence at the world EXPO 2015 in Milan, under the theme "Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life", started in early 2013, and continued in 2014, with DG AGRI taking a lead role in communicating themes related to the CAP to an expected 500.000 visitors to the pavilion of the European Commission. The preparatory work consisted mainly in the production of video animations for the general public as well as in the preparation of more than 20 targeted events for stakeholders and the general public during EXPO's duration from May to October 2015.
IV.THE PROPORTION OF SPENDING (COMMITTMENTS AND PAYMENTS) BETWEEN CO-FINANCED ACTIONS AT THE INITIATIVE OF THIRD PARTIES (GRANTS) AND INFORMATION ACTIONS AT THE INITIATIVE OF THE COMMISSION (PUBLIC PROCUREMENT) 10
| 2013 | 2014 | |||||
| Grants | Public procurement | Total | Grants | Public procurement | Total | |
| Initial foreseen budget | 2.500.000 | 5.500.000 | 8.000.000 | 3.000.000 | 5.000.000 | 8.000.000 |
| Commitments in EUR | 2.423.345 | 5.531.484 | 7.954.830 | 3.062.075 | 4.740.020 | 7.802.095 |
| % of commitment | 97% | 110% | 99% | 102% | 95% | 98% |
| Payments (**) in EUR | 2.035.614 | 4.974.298 | 7.009.912 | (*) | (*) | (*) |
| % of disbursement vs commitment | 84% | 90% | 88% | (*) | (*) | (*) |
(*) Figures not yet available at the time of drafting this report – most of the actions were not paid yet.
(**) The payments mentioned in the table do not only represent the execution of the year N, but regroup the payments made in years N and N+1 in the commitments of year N.
Payments are generally lower than the amounts originally committed. In the case of grants, this can be explained by the fact that final costs of the actions are lower than initially foreseen by the beneficiary, and secondly, because not all expenses declared by the beneficiaries can be considered as eligible. In the case of actions taken at the initiative of the Commission, the difference between payments and commitments is smaller. This arises from the fact that, while commitments are fixed, actual expenditure is less than that foreseen due to savings and the use of more cost-effective measures during implementation.
V. CONCLUSION
The information measures carried out by DG AGRI during the reporting period 2013-2014 followed the objectives laid down in Article 45 of Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 as regards communication and information measures in relation to the CAP, as well as the "External communication strategy for the CAP 2010-2015" through the annual action plans for 2013 and 2014. The measures targeted specific groups and transmitted key messages with a main focus on younger urban audiences as regards the general public; and, rural actors as regards specific issues, in particular in relation to the new measures introduced by the CAP reform, and on multipliers such as media representatives and stakeholder organisations. In carrying out these information measures, efforts were further reinforced to promote stronger synergies between the information measures of the DG AGRI, other DGs of the European Commission, partners in civil society, with national ministries and journalists as multipliers.
For future information measures, a new strategy covering the period 2016-2020 is being elaborated in the light of the results and recommendations of the evaluation of the overall communication activities conducted by DG AGRI for the period 2010-2014 (published in June 2015 11 ).
(1) Official Journal of the European Union, OJ L 100, 20.4.2000, p. 7.
(2) Official Journal of the European Union, OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 549.
(3) COM (2003) 235 final of 8.5.2003; COM (2007) 324 final of 13.6.2007; COM (2009) 237 final of 20.5.2009; COM (2011) 294 final of 25.5.2011; COM(2013) 645 final of 29.9.2013.
(4) Call for proposals for 2013, Official Journal of the European Union, 2012/ C 223/4 of 27.7.2012.
(5) Call for proposals for 2014, Official Journal of the European Union, 2013/ C 264/9 of 13.9.2013.
(6) Commission Regulation (EC) No 2208/2002 of 12 December 2002 laying down detailed rules for applying Council Regulation (EC) No 814/2000 on information mesures relating to the common agricultural policy. Official Journal of the European Union OJ L 337,13.12.2002, p. 21-23.
(7)
More detailed information on grants are to be found also on the Europa website:
http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/grants-for-information-measures/index_en.htm
(8) Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union and repealing Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 (OJ L 298, 26.10.2012, p. 1).
(9) http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/evaluation/market-and-income-reports/information-policy-2015_en.htm
(10) EUR 3.000.000 for Corporate Communication activities managed by DG COMM not included in this table
(11) http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/evaluation/market-and-income-reports/information-policy-2015_en.htm