Help Africa

I am one of a number of British MPs supporting a petition to demand more help for Africa from the European Union. The aim of the petition is to demand the transfer of 5 billion euros from the Common Agricultural Policy of the EU to help people living with AIDS in Africa. This amount could be found by removing the subsidy from the richest 2% of European farmers.

The EU Treaty on a European Constitution provides that a petition with a million signatures ensures that the European Commission must make a proposal for action. The Treaty has of course not yet come into effect and will be the subject of a referendum in the UK, but the European Council has already said that they want to give force to the people’s will if expressed in this way, so even without the treaty there is a real chance of action if we can gain enough signatures.

The petition will be circulated across the EU, not just in the UK, so I believe there is a strong possibility of gaining the required number of signatures.

Copies of the petition can be obtained from:  Neil Gerrard MP, House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA, by phoning 020 7219 6368, or by an email request from the 'Contacts' page of this site. Download the petition by right clicking and choosing 'Save as'.

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