Brussels, 24/02/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 23 February, the concerns of MEPs in the European Parliament's development committee in Brussels focused on the gravity of the Ukrainian humanitarian crisis, the need to bridge the gap in funding to help the people's requirements, and the need to remedy the lack of coordination in EU humanitarian aid. The MEPs were unanimous in believing that the EU must maintain and strengthen its humanitarian action, whatever the political result of the Minsk agreements.
The outcome of the situation given by Jean-Louis De Brouwer, the director of operations at ECHO (the European Commission's humanitarian aid and civil protection service), is alarming: 1 million people displaced in a country of 4 million inhabitants; around 600,000 refugees including 264,000 who have asked for asylum in neighbouring countries; and social services broken off by Kiev for Ukrainians from separatist regions (when over 60% of the refugees are pensioners). This is why De Brouwer has launched a call for increased solidarity and for better coordination of the member states' aid, beyond the €95 million in humanitarian aid already committed by the EU.
“Breaking off transfers to the areas controlled by the rebels will have devastating repercussions on the population in the separatist region. This is not an opportune decision. It's the most important issue. We are trying our hardest to respect the principles of humanitarian aid in a highly political context. Naturally, we should be able to do our job, reach out to vulnerable people everywhere - wherever they are. It's the primary responsibility of the Ukrainian state to protect its population”, said De Brouwer. He was replying to MEPs who were questioning him on the legality of Kiev's decision and asking - as was Linda McAvan (S&D, UK) who chairs the development committee - whether it would not be more prudent to provide aid in kind rather than money.
“Often, a number of member states like to show that they are directly on the ground in order to draw political advantage from this. We must strengthen our coordination - as we did for Ebola”, De Brouwer stated, adding that a meeting is scheduled with the member states this week.
ECHO has facilitated contact with the UN's OCHA (Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) and there is a group in Kiev bringing donors together, but “the European convoys arrive without coordination, when the Russian convoys are already there”, said a representative from ECHO. The UN's strategic response plan estimates that the financing required to bridge the immediate gap is $160 million. “The funding from the Commission and the member states is not enough to meet these needs. We are looking in the member states' development budgets”, he said. (Aminata Niang)