Summary: January 3, 2005: European Commission calls for a sustained effort to help people affected by the tidal waves in Asia (Colombo, Sri Lanka)
European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, Louis Michel, expressed today to the Sri Lankan people the firm commitment of the European Commission to help them to recover from the unprecedented devastation caused by the tidal wave. During the past two days Louis Michel has visited some of the most affected coastal areas of the island, as well as hospitals and relief camps in Galle (South). Commissioner Michel underlined that "the European Commission was the first
donor to provide 3 million euros on the day of the disaster, another 20 million (8 M for Sri Lanka, 2 M for the Maldives and 10 M for Indonesia) by 30 December 2004. Together with the EU Member States we are committed to spending every single euro that we pledge. Up to now, the European Commission and Member States have committed at least 240 million euros and this figure is likely to be increased in the coming days". Furthermore, it contributes with civil protection means, under the
co-ordination of the Civil Protection Community Co-ordination Mechanism for which Commissioner Stavros Dimas is in charge.
Commissioner Michel declared: "I was struck by the dimension of the devastation but also by the determination of the Sri Lanka population to stand up and rebuild their country. I told them that they can rely on the European solidarity for this huge task".
In Sri Lanka alone, more than 40,000 people died, almost 6,000 are still missing and 860,000 are displaced. Damage is running into millions of Euros. The human toll could be a lot worse if epidemics occur and aid is not delivered to the victims as rapidly as possible. Louis Michel pointed out that "international aid is being mobilised as quickly as possible, both by international humanitarian agencies and by donors, and the co-ordination is improving day by day, under an ad-hoc Secretariat
set up by the Government".
Mr. Michel and the Minister for Development of Luxembourg, who holds the rotating presidency of the EU, Jean-Louis Schiltz, met also the representatives of major stakeholders involved in the relief effort in Colombo and in Galle (South Coast), who receive funding from the European Commission via its humanitarian aid department, ECHO.
Commissioner Michel and Minister Schiltz met also the President of Sri Lanka, Ms Chandrika Bandanaraike Kumaratunga, and noticed with satisfaction her commitment to restart the reconstruction in the shortest delay.
Mr. Michel underlined that "the European Commission participates fully in co-ordination activities in the field. We have ECHO experts in India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Thailand working closely with the United Nations and other donors to ensure the co-ordination of the humanitarian aid effort on the ground.
But it is essential that the United Nations is allowed to fulfil its key role as co-ordinator of international aid efforts in the field."
He stressed that "there must be no gap between the initial emergency aid phase and the rehabilitation and reconstruction phase that will follow. From the Commission's side, I am working closely with my colleague in charge of the External Relations, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, who will deal with the reconstruction aid, and President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Durao Barroso, to build a comprehensive strategy to avoid this risk. We will submit our ideas to the Member
States in Brussels on 7 January, when I will report on my trip to the region, and to all our international partners, in a meeting taking place in Geneva on 11 January".
He will travel tomorrow to Indonesia (Aceh and Jakarta) to complete his assessment of the immediate and longer term needs. On the 6th, he and President Barroso will meet the main donors at the conference organized by the ASEAN and submit a comprehensive report to the EU Development Ministers meeting in Brussels on the 7 January.
More information on ECHO's website:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/echo/index_en.htm
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