Brussels, 11/10/2012 (Agence Europe) - With just a few days to go before the World Food Day on 16 October, the development committee of the European Parliament, chaired by Eva Joly (Greens/EFA, France) gave its unanimous go-ahead on Wednesday 10 October to the EU signing up to the new UN Food Aid Convention. The EU, which is the largest provider of humanitarian aid in the world, had played a decisive role in the renegotiation of this international instrument in order to transform world food aid into a humanitarian instrument that stimulates agricultural production in developing countries and provides long-term, lasting solutions to structural food supply security problems, instead of simply giving the rich countries outlets for disposing of their food surpluses.
Nirj Deva (ECR, UK) sees the agreement as a major breakthrough that will ensure an effective answer to the nutritional needs of the world's populations instead of just providing food aid. Without putting an end to the practice of getting rid of surpluses, the new casting of the convention is targeted more to the needs of developing countries and introduces new kinds of aid such as cash transfers and food vouchers to the benefit of communities in need.
The new international Food Aid Convention will take over from the current convention, which dates back to 1999 and expired in June this year. The new convention had been signed by the EU on 1 August, but the Parliament's assent is required for the EU to be able to officially sign up to it. That assent is due to be given by the plenary session in November. (AN/transl.jl)