Dublin MEP to oversee worldwide food aid plan (24/7/08)
July 24, 2008 at 4:48 pm Leave a comment
Fine Gael MEP Gay Mitchell has been appointed to oversee an ambitious plan to relieve world hunger by diverting unspent funds from the EU farm budget to some of the world’s poorest countries. The Irish MEP is drawing up details of how to channel €750 million in direct aid before Christmas, in response to rapidly rising food prices in developing countries. However it’s expected that the emergency plan will encounter opposition from several member states opposed to using unspent funds from the EU budget. Mr Mitchell said that although the scheme will take some tough political negotiation, he’s hopeful it will go ahead: ‘This might mean persuading some governments, particularly the German government who would otherwise be due a substantial refund from this unspent money, and maybe also the Dutch and the French. But,’ he added, ‘Where there’s a will there’s a way, and I think this is a great opportunity for the European Parliament, Commission and Council of Ministers to help the poorest people not just to eat for today, but to grow food for tomorrow.’
Entry filed under: Agriculture and the EU. Tags: .
Trackback this post | Subscribe to the comments via RSS Feed