The Council held a policy debate on a proposal for a regulation of 3 October 2010 amending regulation 1290/2005 and regulation 1234/2007 as regards distribution of food products to the most deprived persons in the Union.
A qualified majority in favour of guaranteeing the effective functioning of the programme until the end of 2013 could not be reached. The Presidency took note of the positions of the delegations and undertook to reflect the way forward.
The initial proposal on this matter was presented to the Council in 2008. In 2010, the Commission submitted an amended proposal on the same subject which was discussed twice in September 2010 and September 2011. On all these three occasions, a blocking minority emerged against the proposal.
Compared with the initial proposals made in 2008 and 2010, the Commission now proposes a dual legal basis in the light of the contribution of food distribution programmes to the fulfilment of the objectives of the CAP (articles 42 and 43(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU)) and to strengthening the EU's social cohesion (article 175(3) of the TFEU).
This new amended proposal retains for the future the current rate of 100% EU funding for the scheme, maintaining an annual ceiling of €500 million for the EU's financial contribution.