EU Parliament Rapporteur Costello to EuroFora on EU and USA Food+rehabilitation Aid for Poor People

*EU Parliament/Strasbourg/Angelo Marcopolo/- EU Parliament's Rapporteur on the European Aid to the most Deprived People, Irish MEP Emer Costello (ESD), from the Governing coalition currently chairing EU Council, replying to "EuroFora"s Questions, pointed at the fact that the American Federal Government continues to spend some 100 Billions € for Food stamps to the Poor, i.e. apparently much more than the EU, but welcomed also EU's intention to reportedly add Social Re-Integration measures, due to help People get out of Poverty traps, while admitting, however, the fact that several other MEPs and NGOs warn to find adequate ways to prevent any risk of "substitution" of urgently needed, elementary Food Aid, by Employment-related matters, whch are difficult to apply f.ex. to Children, very Old People, irregulatrs, etc, so that a balanced Compromise is yet to be soon decided between MEPs, Commission and Governments (See Infra).

The move came at a Press Conference just after EU Parliament's Employmenyt and Social affairs Committee adopted with a Majority her Report on the creation of an EU "Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived" People, yesterday (Monday) Evening.

- "EuroFora" had asked Costello, (who is also President of the EU - Palestinian Legislative Council delegation), what was the relevant situation in other developed Western Countries, as, f.ex. in the USA, compared to Europe.

+ As well as for some "more concrete" information on EU's reported intention "not only to help in situations of Extreme Poverty, but also into contributing to get Out of Poverty", as she had highlighted earlier.

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- "You made a reference to the U.S., and, indeed, the U.S. Department of Agriculture spends approximatively a 100 Billions € to help eligible Households in terms of Food Aid" :

- "That's 100 Billions € that they (USA) would spend, and that Funding Stream (still) comes from the Agrcultural Department", (i.e. at a Federal level), EU Parliament's Rapporteur stressed in reply  to "EuroFora"s 1st question.

Naturally, to be fair and accurate, EU Countries'  Help to extremely deprived People at a National level  should also be taken into account in any estimations which would compare the overall Help to extremely Poor People in Europe with that which exists in the U.S., (where, sometimes, also Federated States add to the U.S. Federal Aid, too).
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+ "On your 2nd Question : One of the main Differencies between this particular proposal, (for the period of 2014-2020) and the previous one (which existed between 2007-2013), is that the previous one came from the (EU) Agricultural Budget line, while, this particular Fund will come now from the Cohesion funds, i.e. it will come from the Social Budget", Costello went on in her replies to "EuroFora".

 - "That's something very Important, because one of the issues around the New (EU) Fund is that it has Requirements from the Organizations which are working with the Administraton to find the beneficiaries of this Fund, to actually Engage in what's called "Accompagnying Measures" : That's essentially to contribute into finding ways to Help re-Integrate these People into Society". F.ex., "If they are Homeless, that the(se) Organizations should help them find a Home ; if they are Unemployed, that they help to bring them into a stage where they might participate in a Training course, that is actually funded by the ESF" (EU's Social Fund),etc., she indicated.

=> - "This (New) particular (EU) Program, because it has a Social Inclusion emphasis, differs from the previous program, and we believe that it's something which is actually very important. That's an area where the NGOs,the Charities are actually Welcomed", as it was stressed "when we (EU Parliament) went at Consultation with them", she concluded on this point.

+ At any case, "it's important to know that this is the ONLY (EU) instrument that deals with People suffering from an Extreme level of Poverty, because the ESF funding is normaly for Labor Market interventions", i.e. "it's adressing issues of may be Disadvantaged or Unemployment, rather than Extreme material Deprivaton", EU Parliament's Rapporteur clearly Distinguished.  
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Meanwhile, it seems true, (as a collegue Journalist evoked immediately afterwards), that some mainstream NGOs warned against what they called "a Substitution effect", particularly "if the programme allows the financing of Social services", because they are afraid that at least some "EU member States will be tempted to finance their own Structural costs, instead of Food hungry people". In this regard, they reportedly "stressed that the program is about the fundamental Right to Food", while, Today, "some 18 Million EU citizens desperately need this", "many of whom are Not even Employable (f.ex. Children, Elderly, Irregular migrants, etc.)". But, "Food Aid is a Bridge to Social and Employment services", which should, normally, keep their own resources.

That's one of the reasons for which the proposal, in its current shape, even if it got a clear Majority in the competent EU Parliament's Employment and Social affairs Committee, nevertheless, it lacked 2 more votes in order to become able to start immediately final Negotiations with EU Commission and EU Member  States' Governments at EU Council, so that it will need to be better hammered out inside EU Parliament (probably in concertation with the competent EU Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, László Andor), before final decisions in the forthcoming Months, (and while the wider framework of EU's Multi-Annual Financial Perspectives 2014-2020 is still negotiated between MEPs, Commission and Governments, hopefully arriving at conclusions during or after the Summer, as some unverified yet but generally well informed sources indicated later to "EuroFora").

(../..)

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(NDLR : "DraftNews", as already sent, earlier, to "EuroFora"s Subsribers/Donors. A more accurate, full Final Version might be published asap).

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