WRITTEN QUESTION E-1897/03 by Nelly Maes (Verts/ALE) to the Commission. Food aid for Zimbabwe.
Date: 2003-06-06
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU aid, World Food Programme, Zimbabwe, aid policy, food aid, political violence

8.4.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 88 E/49

envisaged 2/3 to 1/3 balance. Around EUR 4,5 million was allocated to centres outside the Union (for the
period 2002-2003), with around EUR 8 million being provided for
torture prevention projects.
Approximately EUR 4 million was allocated for rehabilitation centres inside the Union, with an additional
EUR 2 million for projects including aspects in support of victims of torture.

As regards the likelihood of centres closing as a result of failure to secure Community support, this must
be considered in light of the expressed policy to move away from rehabilitation and towards prevention
and the measures outlined above which have accompanied that change in policy. Support to centres can
only be given in accordance with competitive rules designed to ensure that the Union taxpayer gets value
for money by only funding the best proposals, which meet minimum quality requirements.

It is not possible to reallocate funds from the 2003 budget to rehabilitation centres. This would result in
other important human rights’ priorities under the EIDHR facing cuts, would fail to respect EIDHR
programming and could not be executed within the rules set down by the revised Financial Regulation (2).
A further call for EUR 5,5 million for centres inside the Union is, however, planned for 2003. The
Commission is in the process of elaborating the approach which will be taken towards this issue for the
2004 budget.

(1) COM(2001) 252 final.
(2) Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the

general budget of the European Communities, OJ L 248, 16.9.2002.

(2004/C 88 E/0052)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1897/03

by Nelly Maes (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(6 June 2003)

Subject: Food aid for Zimbabwe

Paragraph 5 of Parliament’s resolution of 13 February 2003 (1) on human rights in Zimbabwe states the
following:

Condemns the utilisation of food aid as a political weapon against opposition supporters; asks the
government of Zimbabwe to guarantee food distribution to the population regardless of political
affiliation; calls on the international community, including the UN, to take a more interventionist
approach to food distribution, to provide protection for safe and fair delivery of food to those who
need it, and to work with Zimbabwe’s neighbours who are confronted with refugee problems.

However, reports are still reaching us concerning shipments of European food aid which are not being
delivered. Further evidence of this emerged, for example, during an exchange of views held last week in
Strasbourg with the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, Pius Ncube.

What practical steps is the Commission taking to deal with this problem?

(1) P5-TA (2003)0066.

Answer given by Mr Nielson on behalf of the Commission

(15 July 2003)

The Commission’s EuropeAid Cooperation Office (AIDCO) is responsible for the management of food aid
budget allocations in favour of Zimbabwe. In response to the United Nations (UN) emergency appeals for
2002/2003 a total of EUR 63,8 million was committed from the Commission’s food security budget line.
This enabled the conclusion of contracts with implementing partners (World Food Program (WFP) and
EuronAid) to procure, deliver, and distribute over 130,000 tonnes of food to targeted beneficiaries.
Distribution is and will continue to be organised through the WFP and the non-governmental organisation
(NGO) sector and does not involve Government or any Government agencies. All of this food aid has been

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8.4.2004

delivered in the country since beginning of 2002 and is expected to be fully distributed by the end of June
2003. At the peak of the distribution process during the period February 2003 to May 2003 in excess of
five million beneficiaries benefited from food aid pipelines.

Working with its partners and the UN structure the Commission continues to monitor closely, without
difficulties, the distribution process and the targeting of international aid. The international community in
Zimbabwe has actively followed all reported instances of politicisation, and has investigated all reports of
abuse of food aid. In the beneficiary targeting process the identification of the vulnerable is done in
accordance with recognised criteria and in consultation with the local community structure. The
Humanitarian Aid Office of the Commission (ECHO) has allocated EUR 5 million to WFP precisely to
improve the combined capacity of WFP and partners to distribute food aid in a completely transparent,
well monitored and well documented fashion. The Commission is satisfied that the selection, distribution
and monitoring process continues to ensure that only those most in need receive aid. Furthermore, the
Commission insists with all
the guidelines for the distribution of
humanitarian aid as adopted by most Member States are strictly adhered to.

its partners in Zimbabwe that

The international community, through the office of the UN, has and continues to adopt an interventionist
approach in dealing with the humanitarian crisis not just in Zimbabwe but also in the southern African
region as a whole. It is generally recognised that this intervention has averted a humanitarian catastrophe
during the period since July 2002. The UN’s regional consolidated appeal process (CAP) for 2002/2003
has been well supported and made a significant impact. A further CAP covering the period to July 2004
should soon be launched. The 2003/2004 CAP is multi sectoral and will specifically target the most
vulnerable sectors of society and especially those affected by the human immunodeficiency virus/acquired
immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) pandemic.

Food procurement and distribution will again play an important role in the CAP especially for specifically
target groups in Zimbabwe. All food aid to targeted beneficiaries in Zimbabwe will again be channelled
through our WFP and EuronAid partners and will be distributed at the district level by international and
local NGOs. Government or government agencies will play no part in the distribution of food pledged
under the CAP.

(2004/C 88 E/0053)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-1923/03

by Helena Torres Marques (PSE) to the Commission

(3 June 2003)

Subject: EU funds for the Caribbean tourism sector (follow-up to the reply given by Mr Nielson on behalf

of the Commission to Written Question P-0743/03)

The reply given by the Commission on 26 March 2003 (to Written Question P-0743/03 (1)) was quite
vague and, hence, thus disappointing.

Furthermore, two comments call for an immediate response:

(cid:1) The objective of ‘achieving poverty reduction’ is not valid in relation to most islands of the Caribbean,

since they are economically as prosperous as some European countries.

(cid:1) The statement that ‘the Caribbean is a specific tourism destination, which means that it is unlikely to
be a direct competitor to most European markets’ demonstrates a total misunderstanding of the
tourism business. Furthermore, the entire paragraph from which this sentence is extracted contradicts
the acknowledgement by the Council in its Resolution of 21 May 2002 on the future of European
tourism (2) ‘that the leading position occupied by Europe as a tourist destination at world level is
slowly weakening’.

Could the Commission reassess the two statements set out above, and could it explain clearly how it can,
on the one hand, express concern about the decline in the competitiveness of the tourism sector in Europe
and, on the other, help competing destinations?

(1) OJ C 33 E, 6.2.2004, p. 76.
(2) OJ C 135, 6.6.2002, p. 1.