ARCHIVESHISTORIQUES
DELACOMMISSION
COLLECTION RELIEEDES
DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM(78)204
Vol.1978/0067

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COMMISSION OFTHEEUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
: COM(78)204final.
Brussels.14June1978*
COMMISSION COMMUNICATION TOTHECOUNCIL
ontheproceduresforthemanagementoffoodaid
COM(78)204final.

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
a)AtthemeetingoftheCouncil(Development )on28November1977»
theCommissionstatedthatitwould "bepresentingproposalstoenable
theCommissiontoassumeitsresponsibilities inthemanagementoffood
aid,sincethecurrentprocedureswereleadingtoawastageoftimeand
energyandwerescarcelycompatiblewiththebasicobjectiveoffood
aid,whichwastocombathungerintheshortterm.Theattached
proposalspursuetheseaimsandaremoreoverinaccordancewiththe
ideasvoicedbyTheEuropeanParliament ,which,inthedebatesthat
tookplacethroughout 1977»reaffirmed onanumberofoccasions
thattheCommissionshouldassumeresponsibility foranydecisioncon­
cerningimplementation andtheutilizationofbudgetappropriations .
b)TheCommissionforitsparthasalreadyembarkedonimportantreforms
inthematterofthemanagementoffoodaid,particularly inorder
toshortentheprocessleadinguptothedeliveryoftheproducts.
Thepresentation asearlyasOctober1977ofthethreeprogrammes
coveredbythe1978budgetbearswitnesstotheeffortmade.The
Commissioniscontinuingitsworktomakefoodaidmoreeffective,
forinstancebybetterdovetailingoftheaidintheCommunity's
generaldevelopment policy.
c)InthepasttheCouncilhasalsoadoptedmeasurestomaketheproce'-
duresfortheimplementation ofemergencyandstandardfoodaidless
cumbersome.Thesemeasures,whileconstituting importantprogress,
havedealtwithonlypartoftheproblemandhavenotsucceededin
makingfoodaidafullyeffectiveinstrumentasregardsspeed.

-2-
d)Underthecurrentprocedures,themajordecisionsandeventheprac­
ticaldetailsoffoodaidmanagementareadopted "bytheCouncil«
TheCouncilfixestheexact'quantityofaidtobeallocatedtoeach
recipfent(somanytonnestoBangladesh,somanytonnestoIndia,etc,)
decideswhethertheaidisto"bedelivered FOBorGIF?thenintervenes -'
duringthe'negcciations withtherecipientsonthenatureoftheproducts
tobesupplied#TheCouncilmayreconsidertheadvisability ofsupplying
aidevenafteradecisionhasbeentaken(asinthecaseof175CXX)"t*
ofcerealsallocatedtoIndia,thedeliveryofwhichwasthusdelayed
byfourmonths),anaalsointervenesdirectlyintheemergency
operationstobecarriedout.Thismakestheimplementation ofaid
operationsveryslow,(l)ThisslownesswasdeploredbytheCouncil,
which,inconnectionwithdecisionsadoptedconcerningfoodaidon
22MarchI977>statedthatitseemeddesirabletoseekwaysofspeeding
uptheproceduresforthepreparationoftheannualaidprogrammes ,,(2)
Thedelaysandtheirconsequences arethesubjectofseverecriticism
fromtheAuditBoardandtheEuropeanParliament.Itmustalsobenoted
thattheCommunityisunabletorespectitsinternational commitments
undertheFoodAidConvention ,andthatthismakesitsubjecttosevere
andjustifiedcriticismfromtheotherdonorcountries.
Lastly,thepresentapproachisprejudicial totherecipientdeveloping
countriesinasmuchasitmakesanyimportprogramming impossible
andfrequentlyleadstoinconsistencies ,sinceaiddecidedonby
theCommunitywhenitisnecessaryisoftendeliveredaftertheneeds
havehadtobemetbyothermeansoraftertheyhavehadtobeignored.
1)Forexample,82%ofthe'1976programmes,whichshouldhavebeencompletedinthe
samebudgetyear,wascarriedoutin1977jsimilarly,60%ofthe1977programmes
willbecarriedoutin1978*
2)betweenthetransmissionoftheproposalsbytheCommissionandtheCouncil's
decisionaperiodofbetweenthreeandfivemonthsisneededfortheadoption
ofthecerealprogrammesandaperiodofbetweentwoandsevenmonthsforthe
milkproductsprogrammes.

«
-3-
e)Thesa cumbersome procedures also runcontrary tothespirit ofthe
IECTreaty ,andeven totheletter oftheTreaty ,notably Article 205 ,
which states that theCommission shall implement the "budget andaffirms _
theCommission rsfull responsibility inthis matter ;that isthe
argument putforward bytheParliament -and itwill probably beput
forward bytheCourt ofAuditors -which wants tobeable todemand
that theCommission account for itsmanagement .
Theestablishment ofthe complete system ofown resources ,which
will involve greater responsibility fortheCommission inbudgetary
matters ,makes the present division ofresponsibilities between the
Council andtheCommission even more ofananomaly .
f)Furthermore ,onseveral occasions some Member States have drawn the
Commission 'sattention tothe problem ofthe legal basis offood aid .
This question wasraised particularly inthe context ofdiscussions
onthe financing oftransport beyond theFOB stage ,onthevolume of
skimmed milk powder food aidfor1978 andthe1978 programmes •for
each product aswell asoperation Flood II.During thediscussions
which took place onthese different questions inthe appropriate Council
committees ,thelegal services oftheCouncil andtheCommission were
inagreement that Article 43ofthe EECTreaty constituted asufficient
legal base for food aid .Ineffect ,itappeared tothem that the
Community rules didnot exclude theobjectives ofother specific
Community politics being associated with the objectives ofthe common
agricultural policy .Inorder toreply totherequests expressed
inCGREFER ,theCommission made adeclaration onthis subject on
12April 1978 (l)intheterms ofwhich theproposals which will be
submitted ontherationalisation andimprovement ofthedecision
making procedures offood aidwould include thedefinition ofanew
legal basis forthese decisions .Inorder togive food aidanappro­
priate legal base ,theCommission submits forCouncil decision the
regulations proposed inthe annex .
(1)Doc.S/68O/78(Alim 35)of13.4.78

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II .
In "thelight ofthevarious considerations outlined above ,the
Commission proposes that the responsibilities "bedivided asfollows
between theCommission andtheCouncil (l):
a)Onthebasis oftheCommission 'sproposals ,andafter theadvice of
theEuropean Parliament ,theCouncil
-shall define thebasic products (cereals ,milk ,sugar ,etc.)to
besupplied asaid ;
-shall decide onthetotal quantities ofeach product onanannual
ormultiannual basis and shall distribute cereals aid between
Community andnational operations ;
-shall determine ingood time ,i.e. before theendofOctober of
each year ,thegeneral guidelines which will govern the aid for
thefollowing year andthecriteria needs ,forexamining requests
percapita GUP ,etc.)countries andorganizations .
b)TheCommission shall have theresponsibilities notcovered by(a).above .
Itshall decide inparticular :
-onthe annual ormultiannual distribution ofthequantities available
among countries andorganizations ,andonthevolume ofthereserves ;
thederived products tobesupplied asfood aid :matters relating
tothe transport ofthe products .
c)Intheexercise ofthese powers ,theCommission shall beassisted bya
committee onfood aidmade upofMember States 'representatives and
chaired bytheCommission .Itshall becompulsory toconsult this
committee onthematters listed in(b)above .Following themodel of
the "ERDF-Coiamittee ",thefood aidcommittee shall deliver itsopinion
byqualified majority .Intheevent ofdisagreement with theCommission ,
theCouncil maytake adifferent decision within aperiod ofnotmore
than two months .
1;Theproposal does notcover themobilization oftheproducts northeir financing
since these aspects arealready being managed bytheCommission with theassistance
oftherespective product ccamittces andtheEAGGF Committee .

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d)RespectingthedecisionsoftheCouncilforeseenunder(a)and,
whereapplicable,anydecisionstakenfollowingtheconsultations
under(c)above,theCommission:
–shalldecideuponemergencyactionforcountriesfacingserious
difficulties sisaresultofnaturaldisastersorcomparableabnormal
circumstances ;
-shalldecideontheconditionsgoverningthesupplyofaidandthe
generalconditionsinexchangesofletterswithrecipients.
TheCouncilandtheParliamentwillberegularlyinformedby'theCom­
missionofthemanagementoffoodaidviathecommunication ,assoon
astheyareadopted,oftheguidelinesfortheutilizationofappro­
priationsandviatheannualpresentation ofareportontheimplemen­
tationofthevariousoperations#
COLLUSION "
Inthelightof-theaboveconsiderations ,itisproposedthatthe
Councillaydownthenewproceduresapplicabletofoodaidandadopt.the
actsannexedhereto.
I

AnnexI
CouncilRegulation
of
onthemanagementoffoodaid
THECOUNCILOPTHEEUROPEANCOMMUNITIES ,
HavingregardtotheTreatyestablishing theEuropeanEconomic
Community,andinparticularArticle43thereof
Havingregard ,totheproposalfromtheCommission ,
HavingregardtotheopinionoftheEuropeanParliament ,

Whereas,inordertoensurebettermanagementoffoodaid,the
decision-making andimplementing proceduresshould "beamended;
Whereas,inorderto'facilitatetheapplication ofcertainofthe
envisagedmeasures,provisionshouldbemadeforclosecooperation
"betweentheMemberStatesandtheCommission withinacommittee on
foodaid;
Whereas,theseproceduresandthesubsequentdecisions *takeaccount
ofthedivisionofresponsibilities betweentheInstitutions aslaid
downintheTreaty,andinparticularArticle205thereof;
Whereas,thisRegulationdoesnotconcerntheprocedures
providedforinthecontextofthecommonmarket
organizations orCouncilRegulation(EEC)No2681/74of21October1974
onCommunityfinancingofexpenditureincurredinrespectofthesupply
1ofagricultural productsasfoodaid,
10JNoL288,25.10.1974,P.1.

-3-
HASADOPTEDTHISREGULATION :
Article1
In"thefieldoffoodaid,theCouncil,actingbyaqualifiedmajorityon
aproposalfromtheCommission,andfollowingtheopinionoftheEuropean
Parliament ,shall
-definethebasicproductstobesuppliedasaidj
-decideonthetotalquantitiesofeachproductonanannualormulti-
annualbasisanddistributecerealsaidbetweenCommunityandnational
operations ;
-determinebeforethe31ofOctoberofeachyear,thegeneralguidelines
whichwillgoverntheaidforthefollowingyearandthecriteria
(needs,percapitaGNP,etc.)forexaminingrequestsfromcountries
andorganizations .
Article2
TheCommission
followingconsultations withthecommitteeforeseeninArticle4»shall
takedecisionsinaccordancewiththeprocedurelaiddowninArticle5on
-theannualormultiannualdistribution ofthequantitiesavailable
amongcountriesandorganizations ,andthevolumeofthereserve;
-thederivedproductstobesuppliedasfoodaid;
-mattersrelatingtothetransportoftheproducts.
Article3
TheCommission,inpursuanceoftheCouncildecisionsreferredtom
Article1andofthedecisionstakenoncompletionoftheconsultation
procedureprovidedforinArticle2,
–shalldecideonemergencyactionforcountriesfacingseriousdifficul­
tiesasaresultofnaturaldisastersorcomparableabnormalcircum­
stances:

_4-
-shall decide ontheconditions governing thesupply ofaidand ,in
particular ,onthegeneral conditions inexchanges ofletters with
recipients .
Article 4
1.ACommittee onFood Aidshall hesetup,chaired "byarepresentative
oftheCommission andcomposed ofrepresentatives oftheMember States .
Thesecretariat oftl3Committee shall "beprovided "bytheCommission .
2.Where recourse i;>adtotheprocedure defined inArticle 5i "the
votes oftheMember States shall "beweighted assetoutinArticle 148(2 )
oftheTreaty .The Chairman shall notvote .
3.TheCommittee shall draw upitsrules ofprocedure .
Article 5
1.Where recourse ishad totheprocedure defined mthis article ,the
Committee shall beduly informed byitschairman ,either onthelatter *s
owninitiative oratthe request ofarepresentative ofaMember State .
2.TheCommission representative shall submit drafts ofdecisions tobe
taken .TheCommittee shall deliver itsopinion onthese drafts within
atime limit which maybefixed bytheChairman according totheurgency
ofthematters under examination .Itshall actbyamajority of41votes .
3«TheCommission shall take decisions which areimmediately applicable .
If,however ,such decisions arenotinaccordance with theopinion
delivered bytheCommittee ,they shall becommunicated totheCouncil by
theCommission forthwith .Inthat event ,theCommission shall postpone ,
fornotmore than amonth following thedate ofsaid communication ,the
application ofthedecisions taken byit.TheCouncil ,acting bya
qualified majority ,maytake adifferent decision within twomonth .

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Article6
Followingarequest "by"theChairmanortherepresentative ofaMemberState,
thecoordinationofCommunityandnationalfoodaidschemesshallbe
examinedbytheCommittee.Tothisend,theMemberStatesshallprovide
theCommissionwithinformation aboutnationalschemes.
Article7
TheCommitteemayexamineanyothermatterconcerningfoodaidraised
byitsChairman,eitheronthelatter*sowninitiativeorattherequest
ofarepresentative ofaMemberState.
Article8
TheEuropeanParliamentwillbeinformedofthemanagementoffoodaid
bytheCommunication fromtheiradoptionofthedecisionsreferredto
inArticles1to3andbytheannualpresentation ofprogressreports
ontheimplementation ofthevariousoperationsfortherelevantfinan­
cialyears.ThedecisionsreferredtoinArticles2and3aswellas
thereportsmentionned abovewillbesenttotheCouncilatthesametime.
Article9
ThisRegulationshallenterintoforceonthethirddayfollowingits
publicationintheOfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities.
ThisRegulationshallbebindinginitsentiretyanddirectlyapplicable
inallMemberStates.
Doneat FortheCouncil
ThePresident

Annex II
COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC )No
of
amending Regulation (EEC)No1703/72as
regards theCommunity financing ofexpenditure arising from the
implementation offoodaidconventions ^
THECOUNCIL OPTHEEUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ,
Having regard totheTreaty establishing theEuropean Economic Community ,
andinparticular Article 43thereof
Having regard totheproposal from theCommission ,
Having regard totheopinion oftheEuropean Parliament ,
Whereas ,inorder toensure better management offood aid inthe form
ofcereals ,theCommission should determine theamount ofaidtobe
allocated toeach recipient andthe financing arrangements :
1
Whereas Council Regulation (EEC)No1703/72of3August 1972 amending
Regulation j(EEC )No2052/69ontheCommunity financing ofexpenditure arising
from theimplementation oftheFood AidConvention of19^7 andlaying down
rules fortheCommunity financing ofexpenditure arising from theimplementa­
tion ofthePood AidConvention 1971 (l)»should consequently beamended
accordingly ,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION :
10JNoL180,8.8.1972 ,p.1.

Article1
Regulation (EEC)No1703/72isamendedasfollows:
1.Article8(l)(b)isamendedtoreadasfollows:
(b)Thefollowingfurtherexpenditureshallbewhollyorpartlyfinanced
bytheCommunity :
-transporttothefrontierofthecountryofdestination and,
wherenecessary,tothedestinationitself:
I
-distribution wherethegoodsaredistributed throughaspecialized
agency.
2.Article10(l)isamendedtoreadasfollows:
1.TheCommissionshalleffecttheexpenditurereferredtoinArticle8(l)(b)
incaseswhereanagreementconcludedbytheCommunityprovides,inrespect
ofthatexpenditure ,forrepaymentonthebasisofsupportingdocuments
orforthepaymentofalump-sumcontribution eithertotheintermediary
agencyor,whereexceptional circumstances sojustify,totherecipient
country.TheCommission maymakeadvancedforsuchexpenditure.
Article2
ThisRegulationshallenterintoforceupontheentryintoforceofCouncil
Regulation (EEC)No......of onthemanagementof
foodaid.
ThisRegulationshallbebindinginitsentiretyanddirectlyapplicable
inallMemberStates.
Doneat FortheCouncil
ThePresident

AnnexIII
COUNCILDECISION
amendingtheDecision72/335/EECon"theCommunityfinancingofcertainspecial
expenditurearisingfromtheimplementation ofthePoodAidConventionof
1971(1) 1
THECOUNCILOPTHEEUROF"JCOMMUNITIES ,
HavingregardtotheTreatyestablishing theEuropeanEconomicCommunity,
andinparticularArticles43and209thereof,
HavingregardtotheproposalfromtheCommission,
HavingregardtotheopinionoftheEuropeanParliament,
HavingregardtotheopinionoftheCourtofAuditors,
Whereas,inordertoensurebettermanagementoffoodaidintheformof
cereals,theCommissionshoulddeterminetheamountofaidtobeallocated
toeachrecipientandthefinancingarrangements ;
WhereastheDecision72/335/EEContheCommunityfinancing
ofcertainspecialexpenditurearisingfromtheimplementation ofthe
FoodAidConventionof1971shouldthereforebeamended "accordingly ,•
HASDECIDEDASFOLLOWS:
SoleArticle
TheSoleArticleoftheCouncilDecisionof3August1972shallbe
replaced "bythefollowingtext:
(1)O.J.No.L227,5.10.1972,p.ll.

Formeasures under theFood AidConvention ,of1971 taken pursuant to "
thedecisions adopted "bythe institutions oftheCommunity ,inaddition
totheexpenditure referred toinArticle 6ofCouncil Regulation
(EEC)No1703 of3August 1972 amending Regulation (EEC)No2052/69
ontheCommunity financing ofexpenditure arising from the implementation
oftheFood AidConvention of1967 andlaying down rules fortheCommunity
financing ofexpenditure arising from the implementation oftheFood
AidConvention 1971 »provision may "bemade ,inexceptional orurgent
cases ,forCommunity financing ,wholly orpartly fofthefollowing expenditure :
–the cost ,atthefoborequivalent stage ,ofcereals orrice inthe
form ofgoods notincluded inAnnex IItothe Treaty ,less theexpenditure
covered "byArticle 6ofRegulation (EEC)No1703/72; '
–transport tothe frontier ofthe country ofdestination and ,where
necessary ,tothedestination itself ;
–distribution where thegoods aredistributed through aspecialized
agency .
Insuch cases ,Article 10(1 )ofRegulation (EEC)No1703/72,
shall apply mutatis mutandis andtheexpenditure shall befinanced from the
food aidappropriations ofthebudget oftheEuropean Communities .
Done atFor the Council
The President