Francisco Guerreiro asks the Commission about the EU School Scheme Program and support for almond or hazelnut milk

Read the question below:

Subject: EU School Scheme Program and support for almond or hazelnut milk

The EU school scheme supports the distribution of fruit, vegetables and milk to children in schools. With respect to the distribution of fruit and vegetables, Article 23 of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 establishing a common organisation of the markets in agricultural products (the CMO Regulation) specifies that the aid is reserved for ‘the supply of fruit and vegetables, processed fruit and vegetables and banana products to children’. This links the support to Parts IX to XI of Annex I of that regulation.

Since soy, coconuts, cashews, oats and rice can be found in different parts of this Annex, it can be assumed that they are excluded from the scope of the school scheme under the current CMO Regulation. However, it is not clear whether almonds (or hazelnuts) fall into the category of ‘other nuts’ in Part IX or whether almond (or hazelnut) milk would be eligible for support through Part X of Annex I.

The Commission is therefore asked:

Does the current CMO Regulation allow for support for the distribution of almond (or hazelnut) milk to schools in order to provide a healthy alternative to children who do not consume milk for health, ethical, environmental or cultural reasons?

Answer in writing:

Share this post