Speeking Points by President Barroso on the 'Tsunami and Reinforcing EU Disaster and Crisis Response' at GAERC

Summary: January 31, 2005: José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, comments on the "Tsunami and Reinforcing EU Disaster and Crisis Response", Speaking Points for GAERC (Brussels)

Europe's response to the Tsunami crisis was immediate and generous. The Commission played an important part in this collective effort. I welcome the themes in the Presidency's Tsunami Action Plan. In addressing the Council today, I shall outline:

a) the progress that the Commission has made on its contribution to the areas highlighted in the Presidency's Tsunami Action Plan.

b) the current thinking of the Commission on the longer term development of the rapid response capacity of the Union to disaster and crises.

In both these areas, how much we will be able to achieve will depend, above all, on our ability to bring together Community policies and resources with those of the Member States and the Council Secretariat. Before determining how far we must go together, we must first draw the lessons of what were our individual and collective responses.

* * *

What has the Comission done since the Council last met? Our informal "information note" gives you the detail but I want to touch on some key headlines.

First, financial assistance. The initial 23 M € of Community humanitarian aid funds has already been disbursed. And the request to draw 100 M € from the Community emergency reserve for additional humanitarian aid, announced at the 7 January Council, has been approved by the budgetary authority, in record time (14 days), thanks to speedy decisions by the Council and the Parliament. A further package of € 80 million will be presented shortly to cover the still substantial emergency needs of the victims and to bridge the gap until reconstruction funds become available.

With regard to the € 350 million pledged in Jakarta for reconstruction needs, a proposal for the 2005 and draft 2006 budgets will soon be presented. Following the initial assessment of needs, our first programming missions will go out in February. And Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner will then visit the region in early March to agree the broad lines of the Commission's reconstruction package.
Beyond financial aid, some 20 flanking measures are now under way or are planned by the Commission. These range across trade, fisheries, health, information and communication, research, satellite monitoring, finance, and justice and home affairs. The informal information note provides more detail.

** *

Let me now turn to what the Commission will propose for the longer term development of the rapid response capacity of the Union to disaster and crises. The Commission is developing the following five point action plan:

First, reinforced preventive measures, early warning and disaster preparedness;

Second, reinforced capacity for emergency response in ECHO and the Community Civil Protection Mechanism;

Third, strengthened links between Community programmes and the EU civilian and military capabilities;

Fourth, ensuring that the Commission can deliver on its pledges for timely and effective reconstruction assistance;

Fifth, improving the Commission's internal systems for planning and coordinating a coherent response to future disasters and crises.

Some of these goals can be realised quickly, with the support of Member States. Other measures would take longer to develop and would have greater resource implications. In either case, we would need your sustained support to implement such measures and bring these desired goals to fruition.

Here's what we can do right away:

On preventive action, the Community already draws on a strong and very diverse body of technical expertise. Building on these capabilities, the Commission will come forward with a strategy to address the needs of countries prone to natural disasters.

Then, to reinforce capacity for emergency response, we will further strengthen the Civil protection mechanism. Member States will be asked to provide a complete inventory of civil protection resources available in the Union. We shall immediately establish a financing facility under the EC Rapid Reaction Mechanism to strengthen its capacity to deliver assistance outside the Union;

ECHO will reinforce its existing field assessment teams positioned throughout the world, with up to 150 experts and strengthen their inter-operability with UN and Red Cross emergency response teams. ECHO will also work with its UN partners and other leading relief organisations to improve the latter's rapid response through better logistics and the pre-positioning of stocks. While doing so, I am determined to ensure that the specificity and principles of EU humanitarian aid are respected.

On civil/military co-ordination, the Commission will detach liaison officers to the EU civil/military planning cell. This will strengthen the interface between EU military capabilities and Community civil protection, humanitarian aid and reconstruction assistance.

Furthermore, to ensure the timely delivery of reconstruction assistance, the Commission aims to establish reconstruction planning and assessment teams, which can be mobilised at short notice. These would consist of pre-identified specialists, drawn from across the Commission and its 130 Delegations. These teams could also contribute to multilateral needs-assessment and ESDP fact-finding missions.

Finally, for its own internal planning, coordination and coherence, the Commission will take immediate steps to improve real time policy coordination within its services and improve its channel of communication with Member States and the Council Secretariat. We will establish a light but effective platform in our services, which will be complementary to existing capabilities in the Council Secretariat and Member States. An improved system of focal points, covering not only humanitarian aid and civil protection but also reconstruction assistance, will also strengthen communication channels.

Other longer term measures, with resource implications should also be envisaged. These could include:

Strengthening the planning and analytical capacity of the Monitoring and Information Centre;
Establishing standby "modules" of civil protection experts - based in Member States - for early deployment.
stablishing a common logistical and administrative support platform for external actions.

** *

I am proud of the response of the European Union to the Tsunami disaster. Our institutions, governments and peoples responded quickly and generously. Nevertheless, we should learn from what we did in responding to this terrible disaster to make more effective our response to the next catastrophe. In particular, we should consider how to strengthen our reponse by working together further through the Union.

Taken as a whole, the preliminary plan I have outlined today is aimed at doing immediately what we can to improve the Commission's actions and play our part in the combined efforts of the EU to respond effectively to future disasters and crises.

We now turn to Member States for their sustained support; not only today, but also in the medium and long terms, so that we can implement these proposals and achieve our goals.

To the Jakarta summit, Prime Minister Junker and I took a strong message of European solidarity. This common sense of purpose should now help us to strengthen our collective capacity to respond to future crises.

For additional information on the Tsunami disaster please go to:

Tsunami disaster

Europe's response to Tsunami disaster

ECHO's response to Tsunami disaster

Humanitarian aid Department of the EC

Indian Ocean Tsunami - the EU's response

Ref: EC05-038EN
EU source: European Commission
UN forum:
Date: 31/1/2005

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