21. 10.86 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 265/7 
II 
(Preparatory Acts) 
COMMISSION 
Proposal for a Council Regulation on food-aid policy and food-aid management 
Com(86) 418 final/2 
(Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 22 July 1986) 
(86/C 265/09) 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European 
Economic Community, and in particular Article 235 
thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parl­
iament, 
Whereas food aid is provided on humanitarian grounds 
and constitutes one of the essential aspects of the 
Community's policy of cooperation with the developing 
countries; 
Whereas food aid should be made into a real instrument 
of the Community's policy of cooperation with the 
developing countries, thereby enabling the Community 
to participate fully in multiannual development projects; 
Whereas it is necessary to that end that the Community 
should be able to provide a steady overall flow of aid 
and be in a position, in appropriate cases, to undertake 
to supply to the developing countries minimum quantities 
of products under specific multiannual programmes as 
well as to enter into undertakings in relation to inter­
national organizations, provided that such multiannual 
commitments do not amount to more than a reasonable 
share of the volume of aid; 
Whereas, in order to ensure that food aid is managed 
more efficiently and in greater conformity with the 
interests and requirements of the recipient countries, and 
to improve the decision-making and implementing proc­
edures, Council Regulation (EEC) No 3331/82 (x), 
should be replaced; 
Whereas, in order to facilitate the application of certain 
of the measures envisaged, provision should be made for 
close cooperation between the Member States and the 
Commission within a Food Aid Committee; 
(') OJ No L 352, 14. 12. 1982, p. 1. Whereas the specific powers of action required for this 
purpose have not been provided for in the Treaty, 
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 
TITLE I 
Food aid objectives and general guidelines 
Article 1 
Under its cooperation policy with the developing 
countries, the Community shall carry out food-aid 
operations. 
Article 2 
(1) The food-aid operations referred to in Article 1 
shall have the following objectives in particular: 
— to raise the standard of nutrition of the recipient 
population, 
— to help in emergencies, 
— to contribute towards balanced economic and social 
development of the recipient countries. 
(2) Products supplied as food aid shall as far as 
possible fit the dietary habits of the recipient population. 
(3) Food aid shall be allocated primarily on the basis 
of an objective evaluation of the real needs justifying the 
aid. To that end particular consideration shall be given 
to the following three criteria, without excluding other 
pertinent considerations: 
— basic food needs, 
— per capita income, 
— the balance-of-payments situation. 
(4) The grant of food aid shall, if necessary, be 
conditional on the implementation of annual or mult­
iannual development projects, priority being given to 
projects which promote the production of food in the 
recipient countries. Where appropriate, the aid may 
contribute directly to the implementation of such 
projects. This complementarity may be ensured through 
No C 265/8 Official Journal of the European Communities 21.10.86 
the use of counterpart funds where the products supplied 
by the Community as aid are intended for sale. Where 
food aid is provided as backing for a development 
programme spread over a number of years, it may be 
supplied on a multiannual basis linked to the programme 
in question. 
(5) The objective of food aid shall be to meet 
immediate food needs. Nevertheless, in order to improve 
food security in the developing countries and to ensure 
that their needs are met, food aid may be granted, on a 
case-by-case basis, to enable the building up of reserve 
stocks, provided that such aid does not represent more 
than a residual percentage of the Community plan and 
that needs for immediate consumption are given priority. 
Article 3 
Products shall be mobilized on the Community market. 
However, products supplied as aid may be purchased in 
another developing country, if possible one belonging to 
the same geographical region as the recipient country: 
— if those products are not available on the Community 
market, or 
— in an emergency within the meaning of the second 
paragraph of Article 6, 
provided such purchases enable the aid to reach its 
destination more rapidly, or 
— where the following conditions are met: 
— such purchases give effect to Community 
development policy, in particular as regards the 
promotion of developing countries' self-
sufficiency in food; 
— the products in question are in fact available in a 
developing country belonging to the same geo­
graphical region; 
— such purchases are not liable to disrupt the 
market of the supplying countries; 
— such purchases remain in aggregate at a level 
compatible with the principle 
that aid should be mobilized on the Community 
market. 
TITLE II 
Procedures for implementing food aid operations 
Article 4 
(1) In the field of food aid, the Council shall: 
— apportion the cereals aid provided for under the 
Food Aid Convention between Community and 
national operations, — apportion among the Member States the national 
cereals operations under the Food Aid Convention, 
— determine the countries and organizations to which 
food aid may be supplied on an annual or multi-
annual basis, 
— lay down general criteria for covering the cost of 
transporting food aid beyond the fob stage. 
(2) To this end, on a proposal from the Commission 
and after obtaining Parliament's opinion, the Council 
shall act by a qualified majority when exercising the 
powers referred to in the first, third and fourth indents 
of paragraph 1 and unanimously when exercising the 
powers referred to in the second indent of paragraph 1. 
Article 5 
(1) In accordance with the procedure laid down in 
Article 8 (1), the Commission shall: 
— adopt a list of products which may be mobilized as 
aid; 
— lay down rules for mobilization of those products; 
— establish a limit for the purchases referred to in the 
third indent of Article 3, having regard to the 
situation on Community markets. 
(2) In accordance with the procedure laid down in 
Article 8 (2), the Commission shall: 
— establish the apportionment among the various 
recipients of the quantities which may be mobilized 
subject to budgetary provision; 
— where necessary, adjust allocations during the 
implementation of programmes, inter alia, in the light 
of the capacity of recipients to absorb the aid. 
Article 6 
In accordance with the Council Decisions provided for 
in Article 4 and of the Decisions taken under Article 5, 
the Commission shall decide on: 
(a) emergency action to help countries, groups of 
refugees or other vulnerable sections of the popu­
lation facing serious unforeseen difficulties as a result 
of natural disasters; it shall inform the Member 
States of such action; 
(b) emergency action to help countries, groups of 
refugees or other vulnerable sections of the popu­
lation facing serious unforeseen difficulties as a result 
of exceptional circumstances comparable to natural 
disasters, after consulting the Member States by telex 
and giving them 48 hours to put forward any 
objection; 
21.10.86 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 265/9 
(c) the conditions governing the supply of aid and, in 
particular, 
— the general conditions applicable to recipients; 
— the engagement of the mobilization procedures 
and the supply of products, as well as the 
conclusion of the corresponding contracts. 
For the purposes of points (a) and (b), 'emergency' shall 
mean an exceptional unforeseen situation in which 
famine or an imminent danger of famine poses a serious 
threat to the lives or health of the population in a 
country which is unable to cope with the food shortfall 
using its own means and resources. 
The volume of aid which it shall be decided to supply in 
each particular case shall be limited to the quantities that 
the people affected require in order to cope with the 
situation for a period not exceeding three months. 
Article 7 
(1) A Food Aid Committee, hereinafter referred to as 
the 'Committee', chaired by a representative of the 
Commission and composed of representatives of the 
Member States, is hereby established. The secretariat of 
the Committee shall be provided by the Commission. 
(2) The Committee shall draw up its own rules of 
procedure. 
Article 8 
(1) In cases covered by the procedure laid down in 
this paragraph, the chairman shall place before the 
Committee a draft of the measures to be taken. The 
Committee shall deliver its opinion on the draft within a 
time limit which may be fixed by the chairman according 
to the urgency of the matters under consideration. It 
shall act by the majority specified in Article 148 (2) of 
the EEC Treaty for decisions which the Council must 
adopt on a proposal from the Commission. When the 
Committee takes a vote the votes of the Member States 
shall be weighted as provided for in the said Article. The 
chairman shall not vote. 
The Commission shall adopt measures which shall be 
applicable immediately. If, however, such measures are 
not in accordance with the opinion delivered by the 
Committee, the Commission shall notify them to the 
Council forthwith. In that event the Commission may 
postpone application of the measures for not longer than 
two months from the date of the said notification. The 
Council, acting by a qualified majority, may take a 
different decision within two months. (2) In cases covered by the procedure laid down in 
this paragraph, the Committee shall consider its opinion 
in response to requests from the Commission. In seeking 
the Committee's opinion the Commission may set a time 
limit by which such opinion must be given. The 
Committee's deliberations shall not be followed by a 
vote. However, each member of the Committee may 
require that his views be recorded in the minutes. 
Article 9 
Member States shall decide on their national food-aid 
programmes and shall inform the Commission thereof. 
Following a request by the chairman of the Committee 
or a representative of a Member State, the Committee 
shall examine the coordination of Community and 
national operations, as regards both their adoption and 
their implementation, shall be examined regularly by the 
Committee. In this examination, which shall be carried 
out at the request of the chairman of the Committee or a 
representative of a Member State, account shall also be 
taken of known operations by other donors. 
Article 10 
The Committee may examine any other matter 
concerning food aid raised by its chairman, either on the 
latter's own initiative or at the request of a representative 
of a Member State. 
Article 11 
The European Parliament shall be informed of the 
management of food aid by being notified of the 
Decisions provided for in Articles 4, 5 and 6 immediately 
upon their adoption and by the annual presentation of 
progress reports on the implementation of the various 
operations for the relevant financial years. 
The Decisions provided for in Articles 5 and 6 and the 
reports referred to in the preceding paragraph shall be 
communicated to the Council at the same time. 
Article 12 
Regulation (EEC) No 3331/82 is hereby repealed. 
Article 13 
This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day 
following that of its publication in the Official Journal of 
the European Communities. 
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and 
directly applicable in all Member States.