Brussels, 03/10/2012 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 2 October, France reaffirmed its wish to defend the continuation of the European programme for distributing food to some of the EU's poorest people. This programme has been suspended until the end of 2013, since the request by several member states in 2011 to end Community funding for this programme. They argued that social assistance was a matter for the states themselves and should not come out of the common agricultural policy (CAP) budget.
The French minister for agriculture, Stéphane Le Foll, has met charities (including French Red Cross, Restos du Cœur) in programme beneficiary countries
France will call on the European Commission to request that funding from this programme be “managed with a concern for justice and solidarity by the European Social Fund instead of the CAP”. Nonetheless, France also pointed out “the importance of the link between the common agricultural policy and food aid” and would like possible CAP surpluses “to continue to be used to help the poorest people in Europe”. (LC/transl.fl)