The European Commission has authorised Austria to pay aid worth a total of €4.9m (US$5.96m) per year for costs linked to the quality label and biolabel issued by Agrarmarkt Austria (AMA).
The quality label may be awarded to agricultural products of significantly higher quality than regular products. The biolabel may be awarded only to organic products. Access to the two labels is open for all enterprises in the European Union, as long as they comply with the programme requirements regarding the quality of the labelled products.
The quality label is awarded to products from all EU member states meeting quality standards that are significantly higher than the legal minimum standards. The organic products eligible for the biolabel must comply with the requirements of organic production regulations.
The labels may be awarded to most groups of agricultural products. They cover meat and meat products, eggs, milk and milk products, cereals, vegetables, fruits and several processed products.
The labels may also contain the indication of origin, which enables the producers and consumers from all member states to identify the place of production.
