EU to expand food aid programme

Millions of Europeans find it difficult to afford meat and fish

Poor people across Europe will benefit from extra food aid under new plans announced by the EU Commission.

About 43 million people throughout Europe cannot afford meat or fish every other day, according to the Commission.

The EU wants to increase its European food aid programme from the current 300m euros ($426m) to 500m euros ($710m) from next year.

The move is designed to offset the effects on Europe's poor of rising prices and declining food reserves.

The new measures were announced by the EU Agriculture Commissioner, Mariann Fischer Boel.

"The recent hike in food prices has hit some people very hard," Mrs Fischer Boel told a news conference as she announced the initiative.

"We need to extend this very successful scheme and increase the budget so that we can help as many people as possible, " she added.

Food stockpiles

The current scheme was set up in 1987, at a time when the EU had a huge stockpile of farm products.

However, those stockpiles are largely a thing of the past, according to the commissioner, and that has added to the difficulties of Europe's poor.

"Stockpiles are at an all-time low," the EU Commission said in a statement.

"The number of needy people has increased and food prices have recently risen sharply. This is why the commission believes it is vital to increase spending on the scheme," the statement added.

Mrs Fischer Boel said the current food plan would be expanded to include fruit, vegetables and cooking oil.

Produce will come from surplus stocks or will be bought on the open market.

"This is a concrete way in which the European Union can help some of the least fortunate people in our society," she said.

Of the EU's 27 member states, 19 countries take part in the scheme.