Brussels, 13/02/2009 (Agence Europe) - At the end of 2008, Germany initiated proceedings at the Court of First Instance against regulation 983/2008 (3 October 2008) on resources to be charged to the 2009 budget year for the supply of food from intervention stocks for the benefit of the most deprived persons in the Community. For 2009, €496 million has been set aside for this purpose. Germany is no longer involved in this scheme and Berlin believes that, since there are no longer any intervention stocks, food aid for the most deprived should not come under the common agricultural policy. It believes that this aid falls under social action, and, therefore, is a matter reserved to national social services.
In November of last year, Germany and some other member states (the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark and the Czech Republic) challenged the Commission proposal to extend, with some adjustments, the aid programme for the most deprived in the Community to the period 2010-2013 (see EUROPE 9793).
In a press release issued on 10 February, the European Federation of Food Banks expresses its concern at the danger hanging over the continuation of the food aid scheme. Eurostat estimates that, in the 27 countries of the European Union, 80 million people, 16% of the population live below the poverty threshold, the Federation states, adding: “For the most deprived, food expenses are often the only ones that can be reduced”. With the current economic crisis and the expected increase in unemployment in 2009, “poverty will increase again”. The Federation notes that for 22 years the food aid scheme has delivered food in kind to charities. The European Federation of Food Banks calls on the European Parliament, therefore, to pass the Commission proposal to extend this “instrument of solidarity” when it votes on the issue in March. The Council will, thereafter, debate the matter.
The 230 food banks in 17 European countries distributed 289,000 tonnes of food to some 26,000 charitable organisations in 2007. In total €610 million-worth of goods were distributed to 4.3 million people. (L.C./transl.rt)