GLOBAL SUBSIDIES INITIATIVE
Subsidy WatchIssue 24, June 2008
Commentary
News
As protests by the fishermen erupted across coastal Europe in May over rising fuel costs, the European Commission said that subsidies for fuel are not the answer.
Fishermen have faced a 30% rise in the cost of marine diesel this year. In France, strikes by the fishing industry led the government to announce a € 110 million aid package last month, although Member States are only allowed to provide up to € 30,000 in aid over three years without seeking permission from the Commission.
The European Union will disclose details of recipients of EU fisheries subsidies as part of a broader program to boost transparency.
Under new Commission regulations all Member States are required to list the names of the beneficiaries and the amount they received. A website run by the Commission will link to this information within the year, according to the Commission.
After months of political wrangling both houses of the United States Congress have passed the latest US Farm Bill, overriding a veto by President Bush. The Bill's critics, most prominent among them President Bush himself, complain that the Bill promises another five years of massive subsidies for farmers at a time when farm incomes are at record highs.
Most of the Farm Bill was passed into law on 22 May, when the Senate voted overwhelmingly to override President Bush's veto. The House of Representatives voted the same a day earlier.
The CEO of the Irish discount airline, Ryanair, lashed out last month against government subsidies that support flights to remote regions.
Studies
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Argentina government subsidies up 132% in first trimester
A new report released by the Buenos Aires-based NGO Asociación Argentina de Presupuesto y Administración Financiera Pública (ASAP) reveals that Argentinean government subsidies have skyrocketed during the first trimester of 2008. According to numbers calculated by ASAP, the government spent almost US$ 4.6 billion during the first three months of 2008: a 132% increase over the same period last year.
Over half of this amount (56%) went to energy subsidies.
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U.S. energy subsidies estimated in a EIA report, figures criticized as low
The Energy Information Administration (EIA), a statistical and analytical arm of the U.S. Department of Energy, has released it latest report on subsidies to the energy sector, covering the 2007 fiscal year.
Total energy-specific subsidies and support to all energy forms are estimated at US$ 16 billion for 2007: about double the amount estimated in 1999 by the EIA. There has also been a redirection of subsidies over the last decade: while 17% of support went to renewable energy sources in 1999, the share has jumped to 29% in 2007 (much of that to corn-based ethanol).
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OECD-FAO Agriculture Outlook 2008-2017 predicts volatile prices and an increase in biofuels production
A comprehensive report on trends in world agriculture by two leading inter-governmental organizations arrives at a time when prices for almost all agricultural outputs are at records highs. However, the report predicts that productivity gains will outstrip increased demand, bringing prices gradually down.
The "Agriculture Outlook 2008-2017", produced jointly by the OECD and FAO, provides a sweeping analysis of world agriculture at the present, and predicts trends for the next ten years.
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Study examines investment incentive regime in North Carolina
State economic development spending in North Carolina is analyzed in a new report by a Washington-based think tank.
North Carolina recently released a so-called Economic Development Inventory (EDI), which identifies state spending on economic development. The report, by the Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED), expands on the EDI's analysis, and suggests how investment incentives could be better spent.
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Citizen’s guide published on monitoring government spending
The non-profit International Budget Project (IBP) has published a citizen's guide to monitoring government expenditure.
The guide walks readers through the overall budget process, explaining how and why there can be differences between a government budget and actual expenditure. It also highlights stages in which civil society can monitor government expenditure, including budget execution, procurement, and legislative oversight processes.
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On World Malaria Day (25 April), the United Nations Secretary General posited a vision of halting malaria deaths by ensuring that effective control measures be available to everyone by the end of 2010. The interventions are, broadly, prevention with long-lasting insecticidal bed nets; spraying interior walls of dwellings with insecticides; and treatment with effective drugs.