Throughout the promotion and information measures for European agricultural products, the European Commission intends to make the agriculture and agri‑food sector more dynamic and more competitive and to promote sustainable, intelligent and inclusive growth.

The European Commission adopted in a Communication the second stage of the promotion policy reform process for agricultural products launched in July 2011. The Communication entitled 'Promotion measures and information provision for agricultural products: a reinforced value‑added strategy for promoting the tastes of Europe' intends to make the the agriculture and agri‑food sector more dynamic and more competitive. In December 2011, the Commission approved a funding of €30.1 million to promote EU agricultural products in third countries.

In order to achieve such goal, the Commission proposed a key objectives set for the future promotion policy, centred around four themes: real European added value; more attractive programmes with a bigger impact; simpler and more effective management; and new synergies between the different promotion instruments. In addition, the Communication opens the debate on the content of the future promotion policy at interinstitutional level.

The EU budget spent on promotion under Council Regulation (EC) Nº 3/2008 was €47 million in 2011 and €55 million is earmarked for 2012. The EU rules in force on information and promotion in the agri‑food sphere were drawn up in the 1980s. They have been adapted over the years, particularly thanks to the increase in the number of quality labels.