14.12.2012 Official Journal of the European Union L 3431 (Legislative acts) | REGULATIONS REGULATION (EU) No 1151/2012 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 21 November 2012 on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 43(2) and the first paragraph of Article 118 thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments, Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee (1), Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions (?), Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure (%), Whereas: (1) The quality and diversity of the Union’s agricultural, fisheries and aquaculture production is one of its important strengths, giving a competitive advantage to the Union’s producers and making a major contribution to its living cultural and gastronomic heritage. This is due to the skills and determination of Union farmers and producers who have kept traditions alive while taking into account the developments of new production methods and material. () O] C 218, 23.7.2011, p. 114. () OJ € 192, 1.7.2011, p. 28. (’) Position of the European Parliament of 13 September 2012 (not yet published in the Official Journal) and decision of the Council of 13 November 2012. (2) Citizens and consumers in the Union increasingly demand quality as well as traditional products. They are also concerned to maintain the diversity of the agri- cultural production in the Union. This generates a demand for agricultural products or foodstuffs with iden- tifiable specific characteristics, in particular those linked to their geographical origin. Producers can only continue to produce a diverse range of quality products if they are rewarded fairly for their effort. This requires that they are able to communicate to buyers and consumers the characteristics of their product under conditions of fair competition. It also requires them to be able to correctly identify their products on the marketplace. Operating quality schemes for producers which reward them for their efforts to produce a diverse range of quality products can benefit the rural economy. This is particularly the case in less favoured areas, in mountain areas and in the most remote regions, where the farming sector accounts for a significant part of the economy and production costs are high. In this way quality schemes are able to contribute to and complement rural devel- opment policy as well as market and income support policies of the common agricultural policy (CAP). In particular, they may contribute to areas in which the farming sector is of greater economic importance and, especially, to disadvantaged areas. The Europe 2020 policy priorities as set out in the Commission Communication entitled ‘Europe 2020: A strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth’, include the aims of achieving a competitive economy based on knowledge and innovation and fostering a high-employment economy delivering social and terri- torial cohesion. Agricultural product quality policy should therefore provide producers with the right tools to better identify and promote those of their products that have specific characteristics while protecting those producers against unfair practices.