Brussels, 15/02/2001 (Agence Europe) - During his visit to Brussels early this week, the president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Jakob Kellenberg, met Javier Solana, EU Council Secretary General and High Representative for CFSP, European Development Aid Policy Commissioner Poul Nielson, as well as members of the Political and Security Committee (COPS). The aim of these meetings was to intensify dialogue between the ICRC and the EU on humanitarian action during armed conflicts and on the EU's financial support of the ICRC. On 21 March, Jakob Kellenberg will be meeting NATO Secretary General Robertson.
After his meeting with Javier Solana, Jakob Kellenberg felt that the time had come to establish structured dialogue on the security dimensions of EU action. Messrs Kellenberg and Solana examined how the Union could best support ICRC activities, for example by giving responsibility to the EU and its Member States so that international humanitarian law is better implemented, and by insisting on the need for cooperation between political and military actors in order to come to an understanding on "who does what". Mr Kellenberg considers that the political and military actors may play a coherent humanitarian role by creating security areas in regions affected by the conflict allowing humanitarian associations to do their work. Nonetheless, he added, "we do not want the military to change into a humanitarian organisation". Regarding the definition of structured dialogue, Solana and Kellenberg consider a formal agreement is not required on dialogue. Jakob Kellenberg, however, believes "it would be useful to set out in writing, in a letter addressed to the Council, what one means exactly by structured and intensified dialogue", above all specifying the level of this dialogue and the themes it will cover. The idea, he said, is to establish effective partnership with the ICRC", an idea that Javier Solana approved. Furthermore, Mr Kellenberg stressed the ICRC's independence, saying that the ICRC will never enter into agreements that threaten this independence, either at an institutional or operational level.
Taking stock, with Poul Nielson, of the humanitarian action situation, Jakob Kellenberg stressed the "excellent cooperation between ICRC and ECHO", and recalled that the EU is, via its humanitarian office, the fifth largest contributor of the ICRC with EUR 28 million in 2000 after the United States, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.