Article 1 Subject matter and scope

The Community shall finance measures aimed at supporting a rapid and direct response to the volatile food prices in developing countries, addressing primarily the period between emergency aid and medium- to long-term development cooperation.

The measures referred to in paragraph 1 shall benefit developing countries, as defined by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development's Development Assistance Committee (OECD/DAC), and their populations, in accordance with the following provisions.

Those measures shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 13(2). They shall finance initiatives supporting the purpose and objectives of this Regulation.

Whenever feasible the action programmes implemented by entities eligible for funding under Article 4(1) shall be drawn up in consultation with civil society organisations and implementation of projects funded through this financing facility shall involve such organisations.

To optimise the utility and impact of this Regulation, resources shall be concentrated on a limited list of high-priority target countries, identified on the basis of the set of criteria laid down in the Annex, and in coordination with other donors and other development partners through relevant needs-assessments made available by specialised and international organisations such as those of the UN system, in consultation with partner countries.

To ensure the coherence and effectiveness of Community assistance, where the programme to be implemented is of a regional or cross-border nature, it may be decided, in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 13(2), that populations of other developing countries not belonging to that region can benefit from the programme in question.

Where support is to be provided for measures implemented by international organisations, including regional organisations, such organisations shall be selected in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 13(2) and on the basis of their added value, their comparative advantage and their capacity to implement programmes in a speedy and efficient manner in response to the specific needs of the targeted developing countries in relation to the objectives of this Regulation.