Parliament’s Development committee voted on Tuesday to give the EU the go-ahead to join the new Food Assistance Convention (FAC), an international agreement aimed at addressing the food and nutritional needs of the most vulnerable populations in developing countries and reflecting a new, modern approach to food assistance.
The new FAC was endorsed unanimously by the development committee today. The EU was the main driver behind the renegotiation of the Convention, which will transform global food aid by moving from a system in which developed countries disposed of their agricultural surpluses to a modern, humanitarian tool that stimulates local production, provides long-term solutions to structural food insecurity and is tailored to developing countries’ real needs.
The rapporteur, Nirj Deva (ECR, UK), said before the vote that the convention was „a major step forward from the previous status quo” and that with the new agreement the world had „started to take a closer look at how to ensure a more efficient response to the nutritional needs of vulnerable populations that goes beyond the mere provision of food aid”.
The new agreement does not stop at the donation of surplus food but includes new types of assistance, such as cash transfers and food vouchers for those in need.
It was estimated by the UN in 2010 that 13.6% of the world’s population did not have enough to eat and 98% of these people lived in developing countries. Starvation is one of the major causes of child mortality in these countries and almost one in five children under the age of five is underweight. MEPs stress in their explanatory statement that hunger and malnutrition remain one of the most important global challenges, and progress in this field is still intolerably slow.
The European Union is the largest donor of humanitarian aid and leads global efforts to reduce poverty and global hunger. It has led countries such asCanada,Australia,Japanor theUnited Statestowards this new deal on food aid.
What next?
The new agreement will replace the 1999 Food Aid Convention, which expired in June 2012. The new FAC was signed by the EU on 1 August 2012 but in order for the EU to become a party to the Convention the EP’s consent is needed. The full House will debate and vote on this in the November plenary (tbc). The Council’s formal endorsement is then needed. If five signatories ratify the Convention by 30 November 2012, the agreement will enter into force on 1 January 2013.
Tuesday, 9 October 2012
Committee on Development
In the chair: Eva Joly (Greens, FR)
Links
Rapporteur Nirj Deva (ECR, UK)
