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EU accused of seeking to cut funds for poor in post-Brexit cost savings
Source: The Guardian
EU accused of seeking to cut funds for poor in post-Brexit cost savings
Plan to drop dedicated fund while defence spending rises dismissed as false economy
Daniel Boffey in Brussels
Sun 29 Dec 2019 13.03 GMT
Last modified on Sun 29 Dec 2019 21.15 GMT
The European commission has been accused of seeking to cut EU funding for the continent’s poorest people by 50% to secure post-Brexit cost savings and extra funds for defence projects.
Jacques Vandenschrik, the president of the European Food Banks Federation, said the EU executive’s proposed spending plans for the next seven years posed a risk not only to the most vulnerable but to the stability of wider society.
EU institutions are currently hammering out the details of the bloc’s long-term budget, known as the multiannual financial framework (MFF). The UK’s withdrawal will leave a large hole to plug. Senior EU officials have described the negotiations over the commission’s proposed €1,135bn (£970bn) in spending commitments as the most difficult ever undertaken.
The current budget ending in 2020 contained a €3.8bn fund for European aid to the most deprived (FEAD) to help EU member states provide people with food and basic supplies such as clothing, shoes, soap and shampoo.
Under the proposed 2021-27 budget there would be no such dedicated fund but member states would be asked to devote a minimum of €2bn in total to food and basic material assistance. The commission has said it hopes member states will allocate twice that minimum amount – but there would not be any obligation.
-snip-
Plan to drop dedicated fund while defence spending rises dismissed as false economy
Daniel Boffey in Brussels
Sun 29 Dec 2019 13.03 GMT
Last modified on Sun 29 Dec 2019 21.15 GMT
The European commission has been accused of seeking to cut EU funding for the continent’s poorest people by 50% to secure post-Brexit cost savings and extra funds for defence projects.
Jacques Vandenschrik, the president of the European Food Banks Federation, said the EU executive’s proposed spending plans for the next seven years posed a risk not only to the most vulnerable but to the stability of wider society.
EU institutions are currently hammering out the details of the bloc’s long-term budget, known as the multiannual financial framework (MFF). The UK’s withdrawal will leave a large hole to plug. Senior EU officials have described the negotiations over the commission’s proposed €1,135bn (£970bn) in spending commitments as the most difficult ever undertaken.
The current budget ending in 2020 contained a €3.8bn fund for European aid to the most deprived (FEAD) to help EU member states provide people with food and basic supplies such as clothing, shoes, soap and shampoo.
Under the proposed 2021-27 budget there would be no such dedicated fund but member states would be asked to devote a minimum of €2bn in total to food and basic material assistance. The commission has said it hopes member states will allocate twice that minimum amount – but there would not be any obligation.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/dec/29/eu-accused-of-seeking-to-cut-funds-for-poor-in-post-brexit-cost-savings
