3 European aid to the most deprived
| (34394)
15865/12
+ ADDs 1-2
COM(12) 617
| Draft Regulation on the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived
|
| Legal base | Article 175(3) TFEU; co-decision; QMV
|
| Department | Work and Pensions
|
| Basis of consideration | Minister's letter of 10 October 2013
|
| Previous Committee Reports | HC 83-xiv (2013-14), chapter 10 (11 September 2013); HC 86-xxii (2012-13), chapter 3 (5 December 2012)
|
| Discussion in Council | No date set
|
| Committee's assessment | Politically important
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| Committee's decision | Not cleared; further information requested
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Background and previous scrutiny
3.1 Since 1987, the EU has operated an EU Food Distribution Programme
which uses surplus public intervention stocks of agricultural
products to provide food aid to the most deprived. Participation
is voluntary but has risen in recent years to include 20 Member
States (but not the UK). The Programme is being phased out by
the end of 2013 because the range and quantity of products in
intervention stocks has diminished, and there is limited scope
for Member States to supplement them with food purchases on the
open market. In its place, the Commission has proposed a new
Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived ("the Fund"),
with a proposed budget of €2.5 billion for the period 2014-20.
Unlike the Food Distribution Programme, which is a measure based
on the EU's Common Agricultural Policy, the new Fund would form
an integral part of EU Structural Funds. Its purpose is to promote
social cohesion by alleviating poverty, thereby contributing to
the Europe 2020 poverty reduction target which seeks to lift at
least 20 million people out of the risk of poverty and social
exclusion by 2020.
3.2 We shared the Government's concern that the introduction
of a mandatory scheme at EU level for the distribution of food
and basic consumer goods would be inconsistent with the principle
of subisdiarity and could be achieved by Member States acting
on their own. The House endorsed our recommendation to issue
a Reasoned Opinion last December. A further four Reasoned Opinions
were issued by the Danish and Swedish Parliaments, the German
Bundestag and the House of Lords, insufficient to meet the threshold
required to trigger a formal review of the proposal under Protocol
(No 2) on the application of the principles of subsidiarity and
proportionality.
3.3 When we last considered the draft Regulation,
at our meeting on 11 September 2013, the Government told us that
discussions within the Council had focussed on three issues:
· whether
the participation of Member States in the Fund should be mandatory
or voluntary;
· whether
the scope of the Fund should be expanded to include broader social
inclusion activities; and
· how
the Fund should be allocated between Member States, in light of
a Council Declaration agreed as part of negotiations on the EU
Multiannual Financial Framework for 2014-20 which gives Member
States the option of topping up the Fund by an additional €1
billion (bringing the total to a maximum of €3.5 billion).[5]
The Minister's letter of 10 October 2013
3.4 The Minister for Employment (Esther McVey) informs
us that a Presidency compromise text was presented to Coreper
on 4 October which commanded sufficient support to serve as a
basis for informal negotiations with the European Parliament with
a view to achieving a First Reading agreement. The Presidency
text confirms that participation in the Fund will be mandatory
for all Member States, but is also more flexible in terms of the
scope of the Fund and the methodology for allocating funding to
each Member State. Whilst welcoming a more flexible approach,
the Government reiterated its concern that the Fund was inconsistent
with the principle of subsidiarity and maintained a general and
Parliamentary scrutiny reserve on the text. The Minister describes
the main elements of the Presidency compromise.
3.5 Turning first to the scope of the Fund, the Minister
explains:
"The text incorporates the proposal made
by the UK and likeminded Member States to broaden the scope of
the Fund to support social inclusion activities. A Member State
will be able to choose whether to use the Fund to support social
inclusion activities or material assistance (food aid and consumer
goods) or a combination of both social inclusion and material
assistance. To allow the Fund to support social inclusion activities,
there have been changes to the articles on programming, monitoring,
evaluation, information and communication to reflect the addition
of social inclusion activities to the Fund. These changes are
drawn from the Common Provisions Regulation governing the EU Structural
and Investment Funds, so there is consistency with the rules applied
to social inclusion activity under the European Social Fund."
3.6 The Minister makes clear that the allocation
each Member State receives from the Fund is not new or additional
funding, but will be drawn from its Structural Funds allocation
for the period 2014-20. She continues:
"The UK supported adjustments to the allocation
methodology which reduce the UK's share and therefore the amount
that will need to be top-sliced from the UK's structural fund
allocation. These adjustments include a minimum amount of €3.5
million that will be allocated to each Member State. A Member
State has the option to reduce its allocation to no lower than
this minimum amount. The UK has decided to use this flexibility
and has indicated it would like only the minimum amount of €3.5
million. At this point, some other Member States have still to
indicate their desired allocation. However it is clear that the
total of all Member States' allocations will be above the lower
limit of €2.5 billion in the 2014-2020 Multi-annual Financial
Framework and may reach the upper limit of €3.5 billion.
The seven-year allocation for each Member State will be set out
in an annex to the Regulation establishing the Fund."
3.7 The Minister undertakes to report back on the
progress made in discussions between the Presidency and European
Parliament, before an agreed text is submitted to the Council
for formal approval.
Conclusion
3.8 We thank the Minister for her latest update
on the Presidency compromise text. We note that informal discussions
with the European Parliament are underway and ask the Minister
to ensure that the details of any prospective First Reading agreement
are made available to us in good time before they are submitted
to the Council for formal approval. We trust that, by that stage,
the Minister will be able to confirm the amount of funding that
the UK will receive and provide some indication of how it will
be used. Meanwhile, the draft Regulation remains under scrutiny.
5 See (34394) 15865/12 + ADDs 1-2: Fourteenth Report
(HC 83-xiv) agreed on 11 September 2013 . Back
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