The European Court of Auditors adopted, today, a report on whether the School Milk and School Fruit Schemes are effective? According to ECA, these two schemes, which have an annual budget of € 180 million, are “ineffective.”
The Court concluded that the Milk Scheme “is largely ineffective and has very little impact” on the beneficiaries' consumption. According to ECA, the scheme is “affected by very significant deadweight” meaning, “the subsidised products, in most cases, would have been included in canteen meals or bought by the beneficiaries without the subsidy.”
Moreover, there is no mechanism “for targeting priority needs.”
The scheme is intended to encourage children to eat healthily and to help to improve the market for this product. However, the Court noted, “The stated educational goals are insufficiently taken into account in the design and implementation of the scheme.”
