Moscow and St Petersburg: The provision of emergency food aid

RESOLUTION B3-1383/92

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the report of the mission of inquiry into the administration of Community aid to the CIS,

1. Notes that, despite a certain amount of improvisation where the political decision was concerned, the Commission's overall management of this operation was most satisfactory;

2. Considers that operations of this nature must be integrated into overall policy on relations with the CIS republics and take into account food supply and distribution problems as a whole;

3. Instructs its competent bodies to consider whether it would be appropriate to carry out such an operation during the winter of 1992-1993, and the political conditions under which it could be done;

4. Calls on the Commission, in preparation for this eventuality, to draw up plans for such an operation, taking into account the following aspects:

. the need to start the operation at the beginning of the winter;

. qualitative and quantitative assessment of needs;

. coordination with food supplies as a whole;

. the possibility of three-sided operations where appropriate in terms of organization, budgetary costs and political and monetary aspects;

. increase in the number of cities and republics benefiting;

. using the operation to encourage the local authorities to reorganize and restructure distribution networks;

. strengthening the Community team in the field by seconding one or two officials with specialist knowledge of the appropriate sectors;

. using a proportion of counterpart funds to support food production;

. informing the general public both in the Member States and the beneficiary countries;

5. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and the Commission.