Brussels, 29/12/2000 (Agence Europe) - The European Court of Auditors recently adopted a very critical report on food aid provided by the European Union to Russia following the poor harvest and financial crisis of 1998. The total cost of the programme, which has not been completely concluded, is estimated at around 336 million euros, whereas this aid was not justified, according to the Court. The necessity of such aid, decided by the Fifteen in mid-December 1998, has "not been demonstrated", states the Court, and there was no prior needs analysis. "The difficulty faced by many Russians in eating properly is due not to a lack of foodstuffs but to a lack of financial means for acquiring them", states the report, which adds that the most precarious population did not have access to the products provided by the EU because they were sold at too high a cost so as not to represent competition for Russian products and European products exported under normal conditions. The Court considers that a less far-reaching humanitarian programme targeting the least favoured segments of the population would have been more appropriate. The only positive point mentioned in the report, the counterpart funds, made up of the proceeds of retail sales of the products provided at no cost by the EU, "helped improve the situation of retired persons and health care".
In its response attached to the Court's report, the European Commission observes, on the contrary, that the aid was justified (poor cereals harvest "according to official Russian statistics", incapability of importing products, etc.) and useful (stabilisation of market prices, counterpart fund). The Commission is expected to publish "shortly" a report based on an audit conducted by independent experts on the programme.