EU slashes food aid to member states

Malta will only manage to get about a sixth of what it used to receive from an EU Food Aid Programme aimed at helping deprived people.

The programme, coordinated in Malta by the Rural Affairs Ministry through parishes and NGOs, distributes basic food items to deprived families.

In the past years thousands of tonnes of different foodstuffs, including rice, milk powder, sugar and cereals were given to poor families. The downward revision, introduced across the board in all member states eligible for this programme, is the result of a decision by the European Court of Justice.

It ruled that only extra stocks in the EU market are to be distributed through this programme and member states are no longer allowed to use EU funds to make extra purchases over and above the extra stocks.

As a result, the EU had to reduce its annual budget on this scheme to €113 million for 2012 from €500 million in 2011, reflecting a massive cut for all the 20 member countries benefitting from this scheme.For 2012, Malta has been allocated a budget of €131,300, making it eligible to distribute some 1,230 tonnes of cereals. This contrasts sharply with this year’s budget of €640,000.

The EU is trying to amend its rules to be able to boost its budget for this scheme.

However, until now, no agreement has been reached on the way forward among member states.

Although the EU has, on average, among the highest living standards in the world, some people are unable to feed themselves adequately. An estimated 43 million Europeans are at risk of food poverty, meaning they cannot afford a proper meal every second day.

Malta also has its fair share of poor people although at a lower level than the EU average. According to the most recent data, in 2009, 15 per cent of Malta’s population were considered to be living below the poverty line, meaning their household earns less than €7,800 a year.