Fighting hunger from Brussels

“What the member states are missing is the political will to share a common social project”. This is what Dacian Ciolos, commissioner for EU Agriculture and Rural Development, declared yesterday in an interview to the Italian magazine, Avvenire. In the interview Ciolos affirmed the urgency for the member states to define a common social policy.

“Since I got into office I’ve always supported the food aid program and I’ll keep doing that.” He said, drawing attention to the importance of food banks in Europe, especially considering the difficult situation that many families are facing as a consequence of the economic crisis.

According to Ciolos, the program, which has been running for twenty-five years, perfectly represents the European spirit of solidarity. However, Ciolos expressed the need to take concrete steps in order to take up the economic, environmental and social challenges, without leaving anybody behind.

“Today more than 18 million people in twenty Member States have access to the food aid program.” Said Ciolos. “It is now time to stop playing with the fear millions of people have not to have enough food to survive. And it is also time to understand that Brussels – which many criticize-   develops initiatives that are extremely useful and that must be defended. The aim of the Common Agricultural Pollicy, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary, is to guarantee food supply for everybody.”