Food aid policy: management of EC food aid and special operations in support of food security in developing countries

The Council incorporated into its common position a significant number of the amendments adopted by the EP at first reading, either as they stood or in an amended form. The main amendments sought to: - enhance the role of food security as a weapon against poverty; - ensure that food aid/security operations fit in with other Community development aid instruments and that they are compatible with other sectors such as the common agricultural policy; - expand the role of women and collective groups in food security programmes; - target the poorest sections of the population; - support training in the field. However, the common position did not include amendments covering: - the provision of drinking water supplies; - stepping up triangular operations and giving priority to buying food in the beneficiary countries; - setting up a consultative committee; - the submission to Parliament of a quarterly report on the implementation of food aid/security operations. The Council also inserted new provisions covering: - amendment of the list of eligible countries and organizations, in respect of which the Council felt that it should be responsible for amending the list and not the Commission; - triangular procurement: the Council felt that products should be mobilized on the Community market, in the recipient country or in one of the developing countries of the region, and that no supplier should be given priority; - division of responsibility for cereals aids under the International Food Aid Convention: for reasons relating to the legal basis, the Council will determine only that part of cereal food aid for which the Community is responsible, while that for which the Member States are responsible will be determined jointly by the Member States and the Commission; - revision clause: the Council called for an evaluation of the food aid operations financed to be carried out three years after the Regulation's entry into force, together with suggestions and proposals for modifying the Regulation (the Commission was opposed to a fixed-term Regulation); - commitology: for all projects in excess of ECU 2 million the Council provided for the Commission to be assisted by a type IIb management committee (composed of representatives of the Member States), which was already in place. �