EU Commission President pledges swift delivery of EU Tsunami aid

FR - DE

Speaking as governments and aid agencies from around the world meet at the UN donor conference to plan the use of aid, European Commission President Barroso pledged that the EU would deliver its promised aid (up to €450 million and an EIB lending facility of up to €1 billion) on time. The Commission met in Strasbourg this afternoon to review the EU response to the tsunami disaster and examine possible further actions - on food aid, trade, fisheries, civil protection, research and health - which might be taken to assist the relief effort.

Speaking after the meeting President Barroso said: "The challenge for the EU and for donors across the world is to turn our tsunami pledges into hard cash. The European Union already exceeds any other single donor in terms of total aid pledged. But for people who have lost everything in the tsunami disaster we know that promises are not enough. The swift delivery of quality aid and a commitment over the long term is what counts. Our goal now is to deliver promised humanitarian aid of up to €100 million from the emergency reserves and to proceed swiftly with the next steps to release the pledged €350 million for long term rehabilitation and reconstruction."

"The message from the European Commission today is clear, the European Union does not just pledge money - it delivers on the promises it makes. As in Afghanistan, where we are three years into a 5 year - €1 billion - reconstruction programme, the European Union will deliver its pledged money for the tsunami disaster on track and on time. Our first priority is to deliver emergency aid, vital life saving materials to the worst hit areas. But we are committed as a long term partner in the process of rebuilding and renewal. That means that years after the tsunami, when the newspapers are full of other stories, when the cameras and the eyes of the world are elsewhere, we will still be there."

At the meeting in Strasbourg, the Commission agreed a package of measures related to providing continued relief in disaster affected area including:

• Releasing €14 million of EU pledged aid to the World Food Programme emergency appeal to help victims of the disease (see IP/05/17).
  
  
• The EU is actively considering ways to use EU trade policy to provide relief for regions and businesses affected by the devastating tsunami in the Indian Ocean. These could include reviewing anti-dumping duties in affected countries with a possibility of suspending them; re-orientating trade related assistance to affected countries and fast tracking the adoption and implementation of the new Generalised System of Preferences – Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand and India would be among the greatest beneficiaries of the new regime (see IP/05/25).
  
  
• After tourism, fisheries have been the hardest-hit economic sector in the disaster. The EU is considering setting up a joint working group to examine how community resources could be mobilised to address the plight of the fisheries and aquaculture sector struck by the disaster.
  
  
• The EU is continuing to provide support, through its joint research centre, for satellite analysis to measure the impact of the disaster. These regional national and in-country analyses are being used to support international aid efforts, including the UN donor conference in Genera today (see MEMO/05/6).
  
  
• The Commission has, from the outset, worked together with the World Health Organisation to provide expertise and support to enable the early detection and verification of outbreaks of communicable diseases, assessment of risks for populations, aid workers and travellers, and advice on preventive and control measures. EU-funded networks (the European programme on intervention epidemiology training EPIET as well as laboratory and surveillance networks) have placed experts and materials at the disposal of the WHO; these assets are now being deployed in the field. The Commission is also coordinating the exchange of information and provision of guidance to Member States’ authorities concerning returning EU residents, using the Community Network for the epidemiological surveillance and control of communicable diseases.

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• EU and UN join forces to assess tsunami humanitarian response (23/6/2005)
• European Commission Approves Detailed Plans for Post-Tsunami Reconstruction (23/5/2005)
• More aid on the way for Tsunami victims (27/4/2005)
• EU Presidency Statement - Tsunami aftermath (18/1/2005)
• European Commission contributes €14 million to WFP Tsunami appeal (11/1/2005)
• EU Civil Protection Assistance in South East Asia (11/1/2005)
• EC's satellite analysis supporting international Tsunami information gathering efforts (11/1/2005)
• Session extraordinaire du Conseil de l'Union européenne sur le séisme et tsunamis dans l'Océan indien (7/1/2005)
• Speech by Commissioner Dimas 'The Civil Protection Intervention in South Asia' (7/1/2005)
• President Barroso's Speech at special Asian Leaders' Meeting in Jakarta (6/1/2005)
• EU Commission President Barroso on Tsunami disaster (6/1/2005)
• EP - Tsunami - MEPs think ahead to need for reconstruction (5/1/2005)
• EP - Tsunami - EU aid to the victims of the catastrophe (5/1/2005)
• Commission's Civil Protection Mechanism to co-ordinate technical assistance in South Asia (5/1/2005)
• Tidal waves in Asia - ECHO's response (4/1/2005)
• EC calls for sustained effort to help people affected by the tidal waves in Asia (3/1/2005)