Lords object to new EU Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived in Europe
12 December 2012
The House of Lords EU Committee has today published a report that objects to a European Commission proposal to create a new Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived in Europe
Report: Subsidiarity assessment: Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived
The Committee has objected to the proposal on the grounds that the operation of an EU fund for aid to the most deprived would not provide additional benefits when compared to schemes operated at national level. The Committee is also concerned existing EU cohesion programmes would be undermined if their funding is diverted to a new, untested scheme. The Committee maintains that the proposed scheme does not comply with the principle of subsidiarity, which means that legislation should be made at the lowest appropriate level - in this case, by each country.
This is the third time the Committee has objected to the proposal in some form. The Committee previously objected to a similar proposal in 2010, which was subsequently rejected by the European Court of Justice, and again objected to a revised proposal in 2011. The previous proposals were examined by the Lords’ Agriculture, Fisheries and Environment EU Sub-Committee, and related only to the distribution of food to deprived people in Europe.
A debate will be held in Grand Chamber on 13 December, and a motion moved in the House on 17 December. If the House agrees with the report on 17 December, it will send a "reasoned opinion" to the European Commission and other EU institutions, to signal its concern.