WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE FEAD?

2018 will be a decisive year for the future of the EU. In Brussels, decision-makers have already started to discuss the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) and the new EU policies post-2020. The position of the European Commission is not yet clear, but it is likely that the situation today will require to take a critical look at where savings can be made and priorities delivered more efficiently, reducing EU funds in the area of cohesion and subsidies to agriculture. On the other hand, on 14 March the European Parliament adopted two resolutions indicating expressly that the EU’s post-2020 budget must match policy goals. In the resolution on “The next MFF: preparing the Parliament’s position on the MFF post-2020”, the European Parliament is convinced that “the next MFF should build on the Union’s well-established policies and priorities, which aim at promoting peace, democracy, the rule of law, human rights and gender equality, boosting welfare, long-term and sustainable economic growth and research and innovation, providing quality employment leading to decent jobs, fighting climate change, and fostering economic, social and territorial cohesion, as well as solidarity between Member States and citizens”.

2018 will be a vital year for the continuation of the Fund for European Aid to the most Deprived (FEAD) in the European programming post-2020.

The FEAD is currently subjected to a mid-term evaluation by the European Commission. Furthermore, the current FEAD is moving towards its conclusion in 2020 and from now on it is important to work together not only to reconfirm but also to improve this Fund in the new European programming. The future of the FEAD is uncertain. The current FEAD was agreed against the backdrop of the worst economic and financial crisis for generations. Today’s context is still difficult: almost 120 million Europeans are at risk of poverty and social exclusion, a quarter of the EU population; 8.1% of the EU28 population lives in severe material deprivation. Behind these numbers, the situation of millions of families, children, young and elderly people is getting worse. However, the economic recovery has gathered pace and the focus has shifted to other and future challenges, such as security and safety, defence, climate change and Digital Single Market. Finally, with the aim of systematizing and optimizing the funds, it is envisaged the possible merger between the European Social Fund (ESF) and the FEAD in a single social fund that risks diluting the characteristics of the current Fund.

In our opinion, the European Union must be courageous and show that the EU budget and policies are instruments at the service of all Europeans, leaving no one behind, especially the most vulnerable. For this reason, we need to re-launch and reinforce a programme to fight poverty and social exclusion as a priority for the post-2020 programming. Therefore, an ad hoc allocation or a defined percentage should be envisaged to promote the full participation of people at risk of poverty and social exclusion, especially those experiencing severe material deprivation. It is important to ensure that these funds are used in an efficient and effective way in order to achieve those objectives for which Member States have already made clear commitments, such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, especially Objectives 1 and 2.

In 2014 the FEAD was launched with the aim of promoting the social inclusion of the most deprived through food and material assistance and accompanying measures. Although this Fund is not able to cope with this serious social situation - it represents only 1% of the EU funds in the area of cohesion - it is nevertheless the only concrete response to conditions of severe material deprivation for the whole EU population and is therefore indispensable. The lever generated by the FEAD cannot be compared to other funds: it has supported over 15 million people providing food assistance (7,4 million women, 4,4 million children, 1,67 million people over 65, 1,63 migrants, 0,9 million people with disabilities and 0,2 million homeless people); 660,000 people providing material assistance; and 23,000 people with social inclusion measures. It addition to improving their living conditions, the FEAD has showed evidence that it can prevent humanitarian, social or health emergencies. It has supported the commitment of thousands of civil society organizations and the efforts of hundreds of thousands of volunteers. It has encouraged all Member States to adopt a strategy to fight poverty in partnership with civil society organizations, reaching the most vulnerable territories and the most marginalized people.

In particular, food aid supports a wide and diversified target, and is an effective tool for identifying and removing existing obstacles that people have to face, thanks to a concrete exchange between those who donate and those who receive food. In this regard, food aid is a real path to accessing sustainable reintegration of people and is therefore a prerequisite for social inclusion. Therefore, food aid is the basis from which other accompanying measures can be developed: budget counselling, assistance in finding a job, access to culture and leisure, rights, holidays, and sport, etc.

The post-2020 FEAD will strongly depend on the position of the European institutions and Member States, but the direct contribution of civil society organizations will play a significant role on the final outcome.

For this reason, Associazione Banco Alimentare Roma, Caritas Italiana, Croce Rossa Italiana, Comunità di Sant'Egidio, Federazione Nazionale Società di San Vincenzo de Paoli, Fondazione Banco Alimentare Onlus, Fondazione Banco delle Opere di Carità and Sempre insieme per la Pace jointly conducted a wide scale survey among their 11,348 affiliated local partner organizations which are benefiting from the FEAD with the aim of showing evidence of the positive social impact of food aid.

The consultation was carried out through an online survey sent to more than 7,000 local partner organizations. The redemption rate was very high: almost 50%. The results are going to be furtherly analysed and presented to the European Commission.

This initiative wants to contribute not only to the evaluation of the current FEAD and to the ongoing discussion about the future of this Fund in the next programming period, but also building a united front for a supportive and inclusive Italy and Europe.