The European Commission has published in the Official Journal of the European Union on September 30th, a Call for Proposals aiming to support information measures related to Common Agricultural Policy. This call will be funded with 2.9 M€, from appropriations in the 2009 budget.

This Call for Proposals is based on Council Regulation (EC) Nº 814/2000 of April 17th, 2000, on information measures relating to the Common Agricultural Policy, which defines the type of information the Community can co-finance, as well as their content.

The priorities and specific objectives for 2009 which the Commission aims to support with this Call are:

• Raising the general public's awareness on the CAP in the Member States.
• Discussing with agricultural stakeholders in rural areas the opportunities and benefits the two pillars of the CAP offer for the agricultural sector and for the sustainable development of rural regions.
• Communicating main aspects of the reformed Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
• Discussing EU schemes within the CAP aiming at promoting healthier diet and healthy eating habits, especially fruit and vegetables for school children.
• Communicating to the general public the reformed CAP as an essential contribution to reaching the EU objectives in international trade.
• Discussing the EU policy concerning the quality of agricultural products.

As regard to the actions, under this call for proposals the Commission wishes to receive applications for the following types of information measures:

• TV and radio programmes (such as documentaries, talk shows, etc).
• Visual, audio and audiovisual productions and their distribution.
• Actions targeting schools and universities.
• Conferences, seminars and workshops (including mobile ones), especially in rural areas.
• Exchange information visits, especially between old and new Member States.
• Information stands at agricultural fairs.
• Information campaigns, comprising several types of the above mentioned type of information measures.
• Other types of information measures, such as publications and web portals will only be considered if they are executed in one of the languages of the 12 new Member States.

These information measures will be implemented (including preparation, implementation, follow-up and evaluation) between June 1st, 2009 and May 31st, 2010.

Applicants will have to be legal persons legally constituted in a Member State for at least two years, and in particular:

• Farmers' or rural development organisations.
• Consumers' associations.
• Environmental protection associations.
• Public authorities of the Member States.
• Medias.
• Universities.

Budget

The total foreseen budget available for the information measures to be carried out under this call for proposals is 2.9M€. This amount will be distributed among the measures considered of highest quality, according to award criteria.

The amount of grant requested from the Commission will have to be between 12,500€ and 200,000€ per information measure (flat rate for staff costs included).

Submission of Applications

Applications will be drawn up by using the appropriate forms available at the website for Grants for information measures relating to the common agricultural policy. Each applicant may apply for only one information measure per budget year.

Applicants must send by November 14th, 2008, one paper copy of their full application by registered post with acknowledgement of receipt (the postmark on the envelope being taken as proof of the date of sending) to the following address:

European Commission
Unit AGRI. K.1.
Call for proposals 2008/C 248/06
FAO: Mr H.-E. Barth
L130 4/148A
B-1049 Brussels

At the same time and no later than 24.00 hours (Brussels time) on November 14th, 2008, applicants will also send by e-mail an electronic copy of their application, containing only the electronic version of the application letter, the forms 1-3 and the budget, identical to the ones sent by post.