The 2016 European Charter for Mountain Quality Food Products
Euromontana is delighted to present the 2016 European Charter for Mountain Quality Food Products. The Charter is the next step in over fifteen years of work by Euromontana to promote the preservation and valorization of mountain quality food products. We invite you to join us in celebrating this step forward by signing the Charter here.
A Brief History
In 2005, Euromontana launched a first version of the European Charter for Mountain Quality Food Products in order to encourage the development of a scheme to protect mountain products at the European level. In 2012, after years of work by Euromontana and other interested stakeholders to inspire action at the European level, the European Council, the European Parliament, and the European Commission passed a regulation (regulation (EU) No 1151/2012) to protect the optional quality term “mountain product”. The regulation No 1151/2012 provided the overall legal framework for all quality schemes, whose technical details and partial derogations were to be further developed by delegated acts or regulations. Euromontana’s intense lobbying strategy ensured that the delegated act on mountain products of 2014 (delegated act (EU) No 665/2014) that followed the 2012 EU regulation protected the link between product and territory that is critical in the definition of mountain products. Today, these European level policies continue to protect mountain products and Euromontana and other stakeholders are happy with the progress that has been made, but we also recognize that our efforts cannot stop here.
Why a new Charter?
The new version of the Charter is a tool to mobilize a range of actors at all levels around concrete actions that further the promotion and valorization of mountain food products and thus to build an environment conducive to the production of mountain products. It calls for specific actions from the European Union as well as from national, regional, and local levels and it encourages both producers and consumers to take an active role in mountain products promotion and valorization. To read the updated Charter and the specific actions it proposes, please click on one of the following links to access the Charter in your language of choice: English, French, Italian, Spanish, and Romanian.
Why sign the Charter?
Every signature collected contributes to:
- Maintaining and developing local traditions, culture, and collective heritage specific to mountain territories.
- Sustaining agricultural activity that is adapted to mountain territories and the natural constraints posed by these territories.
- Protecting mountain products against the fraudulent use of the term « mountain ».
- Encouraging the valorization and recognition of mountain products at the European and international level.
- Supporting the sustainable development of mountain areas and offering a high quality of life in mountain areas.
- Preserving biodiversity and improving the quality of the environment while maintaining rural areas and landscapes (through ecosystem services).
- Mobilizing stakeholders in mountain areas who have signed the Charter.
Where can you sign the Charter?
We hope you will join us in promoting and valorizing mountain areas. To sign the 2016 version of the charter, please click here.
Would you like more information on mountain quality food products?
For an overview of mountain quality food products, please visit the Euromontana web page dedicated to the topic.
For more information on the 2016 Charter, please click here.
Thank you for your support of mountain quality food products!
5 September 2016
