The FINANCIAL — Brussels, 20 June 2011 – The total value of funds for the 2012 programme for the supply of food for the most deprived persons in the European Union has been set at €113 million, with the precise allocations fixed per Member State.
This is a sharp reduction from the near € 500 million awarded in recent years because of a ruling by the Court of Justice in April stating that the current regulation requires the food covered by this scheme to come from EU public stocks. Therefore, the 2012 scheme is exclusively based on all the available existing intervention stocks (162 000 tonnes of cereals and 54 000 tonnes of Skimmed Milk Powder in intervention).
The Commission foresaw this potential problem and first proposed to change the scheme in 2008. Despite support from the European Parliament, this remained deadlocked in Council. With a view to moving the dossier forward, the Commission came forward with a revised proposal last September. Unfortunately this also remains blocked in Council.
Although the EU has, on average, among the highest living standards in the world, some people are unable to feed themselves adequately. An estimated 43 million people in the EU are at risk of food poverty, meaning that they cannot afford a proper meal every second day. The most deprived persons programme supports the provision of food to these individuals or especially vulnerable families who find themselves in difficulties. In 2009 over 440 000 tonnes of products were distributed to 18 million people in 19 Member States. Charity organisations and NGOs count on the EU participation to help these people in need. It is therefore crucial that a solution is found quickly to overcome the existing problems and to be able to use the available money.
Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Dacian Cioloș, underlines the importance of this scheme. "We remain politically committed to this scheme – and its importance is recognised by many charity organisations and NGOs around the EU. We must therefore find a way of continuing the scheme in the medium to long term which is clearly in line with the legal situation. The easiest solution would be for member states to agree the proposal that is on the table and already has political support from the European Parliament."
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