Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2012-02-14-Speech-2-309-000"
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"en.20120214.18.2-309-000"2
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"−
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to say a few things in response to your comments.
The food aid programme for the most deprived persons was borne of a two-fold objective of the common agricultural policy. On the one hand, the CAP seeks to ensure that farmers have a constant and fair income, which is why we have the market intervention mechanism, and on the other hand, it seeks to ensure that all European Union citizens have access to food. As a result, rather than destroying the surplus intervention stocks on the market, they were made available to the most deprived persons.
Since then the common agricultural policy has evolved, as have the instruments within it. For that reason, the European Commission is proposing maintaining this programme, because even if we no longer have the public stocks, some EU citizens still have difficulty getting access to food and that problem has yet to be solved. The Commission therefore wants to continue this programme in the context of the European social policy.
It is not true to say that there is no European social policy; I would remind you that we have a European Social Fund. That does not mean that the European Union and the Commission are alone in implementing social policies in Europe. That is the responsibility of the Member States but it does not prevent us from having a social policy.
Therefore, in response to those who say that there is no future for this programme after 2013, I say that the European Commission has proposed maintaining this budget in the framework of the social policy. That budget proposal is now being examined in the Council and in Parliament, which will take a decision on it. On the basis of that decision on the future of the budget, the European Commission will of course fulfil its right and duty to initiate legislation, including in this area. That is the answer that I can give you.
Naturally, even if the programme of aid for the most deprived becomes part of the social policy, that would not prevent us from looking at the issues of food waste and nutrition. The Commission is considering this and will present its ideas to Parliament.
In conclusion, I would also like to respond to Mr Agnew, who made a comment about the Commission. I can assure you, Mr Agnew, that the Commission has never asked farmers to produce less, but to produce better. I think that that is an intelligent solution, not a stupid one, as you described it. That is the direction of all of the proposals that we have put forward.
I also want to say to Mr Stoyanov that if Bulgaria does not participate in the scheme to aid the most deprived, it is because that is what its government has decided. We cannot force the Member States to take part in the programme, but those who want to take part can do so.
Once again, I would like to thank you for your support for this programme and I welcome the fact that, with this decision, we can now ensure that this programme continues, at least for the next two years."@en1
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