The Commission presents a summary of the annual implementation reports for the operational programmes cofinanced by the Fund for European aid to the most deprived (FEAD) in 2015
The FEAD, set up under Regulation (EU) No 223/2014, aims is to help alleviate the worst forms of poverty in the EU, such as homelessness, child poverty and food deprivation. Its added value is that it provides dedicated support to a group of people who may not be in a position to directly access and benefit from other EU funding instruments, such as the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESI Funds).
The total available amount of FEAD funds is EUR 3 813 million at current prices.
The summary is based on the information contained in the implementation reports for 2015, as accepted by the Commission. The United Kingdom has not submitted an implementation report because no activities were carried out in 2015.
Level of implementation of the operational programmes: the report notes that the financial implementation of FEAD programmes was accelerated in 2015. EUR 419.3 million was committed to FEAD operations in 21 Member States, up from EUR 333.5 million in 2014. The acceleration was even more pronounced in terms of payments to beneficiaries: EUR 388 million was paid in 2015.
-Food and/or basic material assistance operational programme (OP I): a total of 408 770 tonnes of food were distributed in 2015, with Italy accounting for the largest proportion of that, at 21.4 %. Five countries (ES, FR, IT, PL, RO) provided over 93 % of the total quantity of food support.
It is estimated that in 2015 the FEAD partially or fully contributed to the provision of 47 million meals. Dairy products, followed by starchy foods, account for the highest proportion of the total quantity of food support provided – over half of the total quantity. At just over 10 % of the total quantity, fruit and vegetables account for the third highest proportion. Over 14 million people, 47.2 % of whom are women, are estimated to have benefited from FEAD food assistance in 2015.
-Social inclusion of the most deprived operational programme (OP II): in 2015 social inclusion programmes were dedicated to preparatory activities, including setting up monitoring committees and selecting partner organisations. By December 2016 25 Member States had completed the designation procedure. The experience from 2015 shows that asylum seekers and refugees, as well as representatives of marginalised communities, such as the Roma, may be among the target population. Several Member States made use of the FEAD to deal with the consequences of the migration crisis. The fund also contributed to reducing food waste, increasing the capacity of the partner organisations and the trust of potential donors of food and material assistance.
Encouraging, but unevenly distributed results: the 2015 reports show encouraging results, which are, however, unevenly distributed. At the end of the year, 12 Member States had yet to achieve their initial results.
Soon after the launch of the programmes Member States were confronted with different problems and took specific measures to tackle them. The main problems were as follows:
Conclusion: since poverty is a complex matter, requiring an integrated approach, the report concludes that complementarity with the European Social Fund (ESF) and other EU and national instruments and measures is crucial. Furthermore, it is vital that problems be addressed efficiently, taking into account that the FEAD has been set up as an instrument under simple management, able to deal with social emergencies.
In addition, the simplified requirements of the legislation should be applied at the level of individual operations. For this reason the report recommends using all available opportunities to exchange experience and good practices both at the level of programme authorities and of partner organisations.
For the first time, in the 2016 annual implementation reports, the Member States will present an assessment of the contribution of programmes to the specific and global objectives of the FEAD. This information will make it possible to carry out a more detailed assessment of any cumulative results and impacts in relation to the FEAD objectives in the next summary prepared by the Commission.