Brussels, 18/01/2010 (Agence Europe) - At a brief extraordinary Foreign Affairs Council chaired by Catherine Ashton, ministers for foreign affairs, development aid or their representatives discussed possible coordination of European aid to the people of Haiti following the earthquake of 12 January. In its conclusions, the Council says that the EU and its member states stand ready to respond to any request for assistance from the United Nations. The Council invites the High Representative to identify the contributions that member states could make through civilian and military means, and, as soon as possible, to present proposals for the coordinated use of such means.
The Council welcomes the announcement by the Commission of an initial humanitarian aid commitment of €30 million and the dispatch of a team of experts to assess the most urgent needs, particularly to support the capacity of the Haitian authorities. It also welcomes the €92 million in humanitarian aid promised by member states. The Council will take stock of the situation at its next meeting on 25 January.
At an extraordinary meeting in the afternoon of Monday 18 January, the Political and Security Committee (PSC) held an initial debate on the various possible options for a coordinated response for aid for Haiti at the request of the UN. The debate, which will resume on Tuesday, gave member states an early opportunity to indicate the contributions they could make at short notice.
Of the possible options, one, an ESDP mission, seemed unlikely on Monday mainly because of the complexity of putting it in place in an emergency situation such as the one in Haiti. The two other possibilities were European coordination of member states' contributions and sending a European Gendarmerie Force (EGF). This force could be deployed in response to a request from the UN for additional forces to secure international aid distribution, Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos, whose country currently holds the rotating Presidency of the EU, told press. Speaking at the press conference after the extraordinary Foreign Affairs Council, Moratinos said the countries which would form this Force (France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands and Romania) had “agreed in principle” to undertake such a mission and that the first reaction after an exchange of views had been “positive”. Moratinos also said that such a Force would number between 140 and 150 personnel. The PSC also considered a further series of requests from the UN, such as support vessels and helicopters.
As part of the preparations for the European response, consideration was also given at one point to deploying one of the EU battle groups on standby (the one led by Poland which has units of engineers). This was dismissed, given the massive presence of the UN mission on the island (7,030 troops and 2,200 police officers), and the scale of the aid sent by the United States. The UK, in particular, questioned the purpose of sending European troops. “The US has 10,000 troops on the ground. That should be enough,” AFP quoted Under-Secretary of State for Development Michael Foster as saying. His French counterpart, Secretary of State for Cooperation Alain Joyandet, on the other hand, said that France “would like to see the Gendarmerie Force reinforce the troops already on the ground”. According to press, Paris is ready to offer to send 1,000 EGF soldiers. (A.By./O.J./transl.rt)