madam president in developed countries the average household spends ten to twenty of its income on food whereas in developing countries the figure is generally as high as eighty
this underlines the dreadful consequences for those suffering countries
we must respond and we must continue responding until they stand on their own feet
in december two thousand and eight this parliament voted overwhelmingly in favour of my report on the eur one billion food facility to provide financial aid to developing countries in light of soaring food prices at that time
the purpose of this facility was to respond to those soaring prices the causes of which were mainly though not exclusively droughts in grain-producing countries and rising oil prices
the situation remains extremely volatile affecting producers and consumers in both the eu and developing countries
we must learn how to cooperate with other countries such as thailand
in the region thailand is a major producer of food yet when some of its neighbours like burma and vietnam were in poverty and running out of food we did not accept thailand's offer to cooperate with us and act as our agent in the region
we have to learn how to do that
we must ensure a quick transition to stability in north africa
we must ensure that aid is delivered to regions hit by unforeseen natural disasters such as haiti and pakistan and in this regard we must continue to mobilise the reserve for emergency aid allowing the eu to respond promptly to specific aid needs arising from such events
