Food aid in the EU: EPP Group welcomes Commission's decision

Today, the European Commission has agreed to extend the Aid for the Needy Scheme until 2013. It is a formal adoption of the European Parliament's recent decision to increase the food aid programme to 500 million euro per year. The EPP Group is a strong advocate of the programme. Currently, thanks to food aid, nearly 19 million Europeans manage to make ends meet. "We welcome the decision with great relief, especially as this year the cold weather hit us hardest" said Joseph Daul MEP, Chairman of the EPP Group in the European Parliament.

Czesław Siekierski EPP Group MEP, Rapporteur for the European Parliament on the Food Aid Scheme, said: "I am very happy that the Commission has adopted the decision to extend the food aid programme in due time. It guarantees that the most deprived and needy persons in the EU will not be left to fend for themselves."

The EPP Group believes that the food aid programme must be extended further than 2013. The programme gives a strong signal of solidarity and is a powerful instrument in fighting against social exclusion