Brussels, 22/09/2011 (Agence Europe) - Pressure is growing on the six countries - Germany, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic - which are refusing to approve extension of the Community programme for the distribution of foodstuffs to the least well-off to 2012 and 2013 (see EUROPE 10456). The annoyance of charities, MEPs, the European Union and the countries which would like to see the scheme continue is at its height, and political manoeuvres are taking place to try to break the blocking minority. It will take only one country to switch sides for the European Commission proposals on this aid scheme for the most disadvantaged to be continued in 2012 and 2013.
French Agriculture Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Wednesday 21 September that he was still “actively pursuing diplomatic efforts, particularly with Germany, ahead of the forthcoming Council of European agriculture ministers” in Luxembourg on 20 October. In an attempt to break the deadlock, France has proposed that a special fund be set up to guarantee the future of the scheme beyond 2013 within the framework of negotiations on the future of all European policies, including the common agricultural policy (CAP) and cohesion policy.
The European Commission stoutly defends its position which will allow the scheme to continue in 2012 and 2013 and, above all, will remove all legal and budgetary difficulties. In a press release, the Commission states that it is “fully committed to keeping the European food aid scheme for the most disadvantaged”. It deeply regrets that the Council, because of the opposition of a small number of member states, did not support its proposal for amending the legislation to allow the full allocation of €500 million planned for the food aid scheme to be released for both 2012 and 2013. “For 25 years, the food distribution scheme has proved its worth. It must continue to embody the spirit of solidarity which stirs the European project”, the Commission says.
“The European Union must remain a partner on which food banks can count. We cannot be found wanting at a time when the economic crisis makes this scheme even more needed. We can still break the deadlock, but we will have to act quickly. I call on the member states which are against our proposal to show a sense of responsibility and not to play with the fear of millions of households in Europe of not having enough food in 2012 and 2013”, said Agriculture Commissioner Dacian Cioloº.
A decision on the legal basis for the retention of a scheme with a budget of €500 million in 2012 and 2013 has been awaited from the member states since September 2010. If no solution can be found, the Commission will have no option but to cut back the 2012 scheme to the available intervention stocks, valued at €113.5 million, following the judgment by the General Court of 13 April 2011 which ruled illegal the provisions in the 2009 scheme for the purchase of produce on the markets.
As it announced in its communication on the next multiannual financial framework in June of this year, the Commission will bring forward a proposal before the end of this year to extend the scheme beyond 2013. The proposal will be for the food aid scheme to come under economic and social cohesion policy from 2014. This important change cannot be put into effect for 2012 or 2013, hence the need for member states to agree a transitional scheme.
“The opposition from certain member states to the swift implementation of the European Food Aid Programme for the most deprived in society is unacceptable”, stated the leader of the EPP Group in the European Parliament (EP), Joseph Daul. “How will we, on the one hand, explain to our citizens that Europe is a matter of solidarity, and, on the other hand, refuse to help the poorest, in the midst of a crisis where the gap between the richer and the most deprived keeps deepening?” he went on. He said that his group supported the proposed creation of a special fund to guarantee the same amount of aid to charities as in previous years. He called on the Polish Presidency of the Council of the EU to find a solution to “this important question of principle” as soon as possible.
“Millions of EU citizens who risk food poverty - most of whom are children - might soon face hard times”, commented the S&D Group in the EP. S&D deputy leader Stephen Hughes said that around 43 million people in the EU cannot afford a proper meal every second day. “The opposition of this six-country blocking minority, five of which don't even participate in that programme, is morally unacceptable”, he stated. Luis Capoulas Santos (S&D, Portugal) pointed out that the Court ruling said that the funds to run this programme must come from the EU social budget and not from the agriculture budget. “This is a bureaucratic and administrative issue”, he argued. The main problem is that, because of the refusal (by some countries) to approve the Commission proposal, millions of citizens living in food poverty would no longer receive free foodstuffs. The 2012 budget would be slashed by 80% in 2012 and would cease entirely in 2013, he warned.
In the view of the Greens/EFA Group, “the failure of the Council to come to a decision is totally irresponsible, meaning that, as winter approaches, charities find themselves in the dark over the future of food aid”. “In this time of crisis which is already having a severe effect on social policies, governments were able to find billions to bail out the banks. It would be unacceptable if they cannot find the €480 million needed to ensure European solidarity with the poorest of our fellow citizens”, it said.
Committee of the Regions President Mercedes Bresso said she was “disgusted” that food aid for the most deprived might be discontinued. While stating that she understood the principles behind the referral of the matter by certain member states to the Court of Justice, she nevertheless condemns the consequences: “This is not my idea of what European construction should be about. European construction is not the sum of technical and legal decisions. It is, above all, a political project. And in this political project, social cohesion, which includes support for those who do not have the means to buy themselves one meal per day, has its full place, as is acknowledged in the Treaty”, she said. The aid must continue to be European, she said: “The notion of returning this aid to the member states is a bad one. We cannot say: let every country look after its own poor! I find that quite simply scandalous and that is why I am outraged today. What are the countries in greatest difficulty, such as Greece, at the moment, going to be able to do? Nothing probably. And that is something that, quite simply, I cannot accept”. (L.C./transl.rt)