The allocation of EU financial aid under the program of fruit distribution in schools – the School Fruit Scheme for the 2012-2013 school year – was approved by member states in the Management Committee, and the decision will be formally adopted by the Commission in the upcoming weeks, the Commission said in a press release.
The EU funding amounts to EUR90 million and will be allocated to the 24 Member States which joined the program. Sweden, Finland and Great Britain have decided not to participate.
The main beneficiaries of the EU funding under the 2012/2013 School Fruit Scheme will be Italy, who is set to receive EUR20.5 million, followed by Germany (EUR11.6 million), Romania (EUR9.8 million), Poland (EUR9.2 million), France (EUR5.6 million) and Spain (EUR4.8 million). The EU funds need to be co-financed by EU Member States at rates between 50% and 75%.
The program was launched in 2009 and figures for 2010/2011 show that more than 8 million children benefited from the Scheme by receiving portions of fruit and vegetables in schools.
In its proposals to reform the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), the Commission included measures meant to further strengthen the School Fruit Scheme and allow even more children to benefit, by proposing to raise the overall EU budget available for the Scheme to EUR150 million and to increase the rates of co-financing.