1. With a view to improving general conditions for the production and marketing of apiculture products, Member States may draw up national programmes for the apiculture sector covering a period of three years ("apiculture programmes"). These programmes shall be developed in cooperation with representative organisations in the beekeeping field.
2. The Union contribution to the apiculture programmes shall be equivalent to 50 % of the expenditure borne by Member States for those programmes, as approved in accordance with point (c) of the first paragraph of Article 57.
3. To be eligible for the Union contribution provided for in paragraph 2, Member States shall carry out a study of the production and marketing structure in the beekeeping sector in their territory.
4. The following measures may be included in apiculture programmes:
(a)
technical assistance to beekeepers and beekeepers' organisations;
(b)
combating beehive invaders and diseases, particularly varroasis;
(c)
rationalisation of transhumance;
(d)
measures to support laboratories for the analysis of apiculture products with the aim of helping beekeepers to market and increase the value of their products;
(e)
measures to support the restocking of hives in the Union;
(f)
cooperation with specialised bodies for the implementation of applied research programmes in the field of beekeeping and apiculture products;
(g)
market monitoring;
(h)
enhancement of product quality with a view to exploiting the potential of products on the market.