Malta will this year reap major benefits from a European Commission initiative to carry on supporting the EU’s Food Aid Programme, despite initial objections from the bloc’s paymasters.
Malta’s allocation of funds for this year has been increased by nearly €600,000, from the initial allocation of €131,000 to €722,000.
But this only followed tough negotiations with member states, especially the larger ones which wanted to curtail the programme, and the European Parliament (EP).
The money is used to buy food from the open markets to be distributed among the neediest in society.
According to EU rules and a European Court ruling last year, the €500 million annual budget for this annual scheme had to be cut down to just €113 million and completely phased out by 2013.
However, an 11th-hour deal struck among EU agriculture ministers at the end of last year will keep the scheme going, at least until the end of next year. An allocation of €1 billion from the EU’s coffers is to be spread over these two years.
Giving details of the allocation, EU Agriculture Commissioner Dacian Ciolos said Malta would receive €721,992 – the largest allocation to the island since it started taking part in this scheme in 2005.
Besides helping people in need, through a number of NGOs and Church organisations, the scheme also supports the agricultural community as most of the funds are spent to buy local produce.
According to the Commission, the biggest allocation this year will go to Italy (€95 million), followed by Spain (€80 million) and France (€70 million).
More than 15 per cent of Malta’s population is at risk of poverty, slightly below the European average, according to EU statistics. This means they are living in households earning less than €6,275 a year, equivalent to 60 per cent of the median national income.