Association raises concerns about substitution of well-established ‘Enjoy it’s from Europe’ slogan and questions what ‘boosted budget’ actually means for the sector
Freshfel Europe has reached out to European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen following her announcement of a ’boosted’ agri-food promotion budget and the launch of a new ’Buy European Food’ campaign.
The campaign was unveiled yesterday (10 September) during a European Parliament plenary session.
The association described the European promotion policy as an important financial instrument within the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), with a budget of more than €180mn, noting that the fruit and vegetable category is one of the main beneficiaries of the policy.
Within this, the multi promotion budget – initially set at €84.4mn, out of which €9mn is allocated to fruit and vegetable promotion – is under pressure.
In 2025, the entire multi promotion budget was suspended due to a reallocation of funds to address the consequences of the war in Ukraine.
At the last minute, only €40mn was finally made available – representing a 53 per cent cut from the original budget allocation for the multi programme.
This has created planning challenges that require collaborative efforts between partners, Freshfel noted.
Looking ahead, the situation remains highly uncertain, it continued. The 2026 annual budget is currently still set at zero, with an uncertain option of last-minute partial re-allocations, creating ”deep instability and uncertainty” for the sector.
“When the Commission president promises a ’boosted budget’, will it effectively increase the total promotion budget of €180mn?” asked Philippe Binard, general delegate of Freshfel Europe.
”Will it only restore part of the multi budget previously cut by the Commission or will it indeed be a real boost of the €84.4mn historically available?” he questioned.
”When committing to boosting the budget, words matter on what it really mean for business.
”Predictable and reliable promotion funding is essential for the European fruit and vegetable sector to plan and invest effectively in the promotion of fresh produce,” Binard explained.
”The EU promotion budget has been for years an essential instrument of the CAP for generic and usually unbranded like fresh produce operating with tight margin. A well-funded promotion budget is a must for the fruit and vegetable sector.”
The announcement of the rebranding of the campaign motto and logo also raises ”legitimate concerns” for Freshfel Europe.
The substitution of the well-established ’Enjoy it’s from Europe’ slogan with ’Buy European Food’ is described by the association as ”rather controversial”.
Coming from the European Commission without any stakeholder consultation with those using the logo as part of their EU funded campaign, or any kind of credible impact assessment, was a working process that breached good governance principles and confidence in policy making, it said.
”The current slogan has been in place for over a decade,” Binard continued. ”It is widely recognised as a trusted signature of an EU funded promotion programme.
“The ’Enjoy its from Europe’ logo is an open logo that effectively fits both agriculture and agri-food products. Narrowing the focus to ‘food’ completely undermines the role of agriculture.
”Agricultural products are downgraded to a secondary position, while it should remain at the heart of EU promotion efforts by EU CAP budget,” he said. ”There is no food without agriculture.”
Redirecting the already limited funds of the policy towards well-branded food industries with high margin is not a sound strategic move by the EU, Freshfel warned, leaving basic, natural, unprocessed, healthy and sustainable products like fresh fruit and vegetables with lower margins underfunded for their marketing activities.
Additionally, it said, the ’Buy European Food’ concept might raise other issue on the integrity of the message and its beneficiaries.
”Every piece of fresh fruit and vegetable carries an unambiguous identity – its origin through the compulsory EU labelling requirement,” Freshfel stated.
”This debate of ’buying European food’ is an opportunity for Freshfel Europe to remind that the promotion policy should only be accessible to food 100 per cent composed of EU ingredients, in such a way it will altogether benefit EU farmers and growers,” the association noted.
”Many (ultra) processed foods contain high level of ingredients that are not originating from the European Union that might in an ultra-processed fashion indirectly benefit from EU funding.”
Freshfel called for the European Commission to provide transparency on the actual budget increase, with clear figures and projection.
”A robust budget for fruit and vegetables would be coherent with the European Commission ambition to shift towards healthier and most sustainable diet,” it added.
”Freshfel Europe also calls the Commission for the long term efficiency of its policy by maintaining continuity of its well-established brand ’Enjoy its from Europe’.
