EU to step up its support to African, Caribbean and Pacific countries

21 June – The European Commission proposed to mobilise €600 million from the reserves of the European Development Fund to address the current food security crisis aggravated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. These funds will support African, Caribbean and Pacific countries to cope with the dire situation through humanitarian assistance, sustainable production and resilience of food systems and macro-economic support.

“The Russian invasion of Ukraine reverberates around the world. It is about the lives and livelihoods of millions of people around the world who fear they will not be able to afford to heat their homes or feed their children.”

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission

Russia’s aggression is driving the global food crisis

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has had an immediate impact on food security for millions of people around the world. Costs throughout the food supply chain have increased. The increase in costs of energy and fertiliser have destabilised the agricultural markets, and trade flows to and from Ukraine and Russia are disrupted.

– Ukraine alone provides more than half of the World Food Programme’s wheat supply. The shelling and bombing make it impossible for Ukrainian farmers to sow.

– Russia is deliberately targeting and destroying agricultural machinery, food stocks, and processing and transport capacities in Ukraine.

– Russia is restricting its food exports and blocking hundreds of ships filled with wheat in the Black Sea.

– EU sanctions imposed on Russia and Belarus do not target the agricultural sector. The purchase, import and transport of agricultural and food products are exempted from the ban on Russian-flagged vessels.

EU response

The EU, as a long standing and reliable partner for countries around the world, is working to ensure global food security and build resilient food systems.

Food availability is currently not at stake in the EU, since the continent is largely self-sufficient for many agricultural products. However, our agricultural sector is a net importer of specific products, for example feed protein. This vulnerability, together with high input costs, such as fertilisers and fossil energy, is causing production challenges for farmers and risks driving up food prices.

The European Commission is proposing a range of short-term and medium-term actions to enhance global food security and to support farmers and consumers in the EU in light of rising food prices and input costs.

We are:

• helping to get grain out of Ukraine
• supporting vulnerable populations
• stepping up our food production
• removing restrictions on food trade and promoting multilateralism

Strengthening global food security

The Commission is committed to taking all necessary measures to ensure that the EU, as a net food exporter and top agri-food producer, contributes to global food security. The EU is a lead provider of humanitarian and development assistance to food and food systems.

Both humanitarian needs and costs are likely to increase and put additional pressure on humanitarian assistance. Since 2015, the EU has spent a minimum of €350 million per year for humanitarian food assistance and a further €2.5 billion (€1.4 billion for development and €1.1 billion for humanitarian aid) is pledged for international cooperation with a nutrition objective in the period 2021-2024. In the period 2021-27, the EU will support food systems in about 70 partner countries.

• On 6 April, the EU and Member States pledged over €1 billion to address food security in the Sahel.
• On 26 April, the EU and Member States pledged €633 million for urgent support and to strengthen food systems and resilience in the Horn of Africa.

For the Southern Neighbourhood region, the EU has adopted a support package of €225 million to mitigate the effects of potential emerging food crises due to high dependence on food imports disrupted by the war.

Moreover, the EU will continue to strongly advocate to avoid export restrictions and export bans on food, as well as for a well-functioning single market.

This profound crisis confirms that we need to accelerate globally the food system transition towards sustainability and resilience to better prepare for future crises. As a follow-up to the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit, the Commission is engaging in eight global coalitions that all aim for food system transformation, resilience and sustainable productivity growth.

Support for EU farmers

€500 million will be distributed in national allocations to directly support farmers most affected by higher input costs and the closure of export markets. EU countries can complement this support up to 200% with national funds.

To address cash flow difficulties currently facing farmers, EU countries will be allowed to pay increased levels of CAP direct payments in advance.

The Commission has already:

• granted an exceptional and temporary derogation to allow the production of crops on land set aside within the EU, while maintaining full greening payments for farmers
• proposed a new Temporary Crisis Framework that would also cover farmers, fertiliser producers and the fisheries sector

The Commission will also introduce market safety net measures to support the pigmeat market in light of the particularly difficult situation facing the sector.Support for EU consumers. Measures to improve the supply of food staples will help to ease price pressures.EU Member States may also implement reduced rates of value added tax and encourage economic operators to contain retail prices

In addition, Member States can draw from EU funds such as the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD) which supports EU countries’ actions to provide food and/or basic material assistance to the most deprived.

Resilience and sustainability of our food systems

Enhancing resilience by reducing the dependency of European agriculture on energy, energy intensive imports and feed imports is now more of a necessity than ever before. Resilience requires diversified import sources and market outlets through a robust multilateral and bilateral trade policy.