Brussels, 07/01/2005 (Agence Europe) - The day after the Jakarta conference, the extraordinary General Affairs and External Relations Council enlarged to the EU humanitarian aid and health ministers took stock of the needs of the disaster-stricken countries on the basis of detailed reports by Commissioner Louis Michel and Luxembourg minister Jean-Louis Schiltz as well as UN (Unicef/OCHA) and WHO representatives. It also gave a report of aid provided by the EU and lay the foundations for an improved and more coordinated response to such disasters in future, in the assumption that a tragedy of this magnitude may one day happen again somewhere in the world.
During the session the 53 ministers unanimously agreed on what should be done, in addition to emergency humanitarian relief, to improve the EU's response to such disasters, both before and after they have struck. The Council conclusions establish a list of longer term actions for risk prevention, effective humanitarian intervention and support measures. Convinced of the need to strengthen measures for prevention, early warning and preparation against disasters, the Council invites the Commission to submit proposals for a strategy in this field, on which a stance may be taken with a view to the World Conference on Disaster Reduction in Kobe, Japan. The Council also supports the German initiative to organise an international conference in 2005 under the aegis of the UN.
The idea of creating an EU rapid response capability (especially dear to France but which comes up against German reticence) is explicitly mentioned in the Council conclusions but at this stage no details for exact arrangements are given. The Council calls on its own bodies and on the Commission to study the possibility of developing a Union rapid response capability (planning structure, coordination and mobilisation of means) to face up to disasters of the same kind. At the request of the Presidency, it will be up to the Council to set out this idea in more detail on 31 January.
As far as civil protection resources are concerned, the Council agrees to examine every possibility to improve the civil protection mechanism of the European Community, including its analysis capacity. It insists on the need to strengthen the role of the UN in humanitarian response action, and the need for the EU to contribute. At the request of Germany, Sweden and Italy, which insisted that civil protection systems should be strengthened in favour of EU victims of natural disasters in the world, the Council took this requirement on board. The conclusions specify that the Union will proceed to make an evaluation of experience gained regarding European citizen protection with a view to improving its response ability. The Council adds that it is especially important to rapidly strengthen the effectiveness of consular cooperation between Member States and to examine this question in the context of the preparatory work for the establishment of the common External Service.
The Council is also willing to examine other flanking measures such as commercial support measures and different forms of bilateral partnerships with the disaster-stricken countries. In this context, following the idea floated by Chancellor Schröder, it encourages the relevant authorities to set up twinning between regions, towns or public and private establishments such as hospitals and schools (during the debate, the German Foreign and Development Ministers, Joschka Fischer and Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul, who hoped the notion of "bilateral partnerships" would be made explicit by the notion of twinning at every level, won the day).
As far as reducing the affected countries' debt is concerned, and in the knowledge that it is up to the Club de Paris to enact during its meeting of 12 January, the Council simply notes the intention of Member States to adjust the debt servicing of affected countries, above all by a moratorium on the debt of countries wishing to begin discussion along these lines. The conclusions add that it will be up to the Ecofin Council to take stock of the economic consequences of the disaster during its session of 18 January.
The General Affairs/External Relations Council on 31 January will discuss all measures envisaged during this extraordinary session for the medium and long term with a view to formulating an operational action plan for the European Union.
In its conclusions, the Council also restated the EU's solidarity with the disaster-stricken countries and populations. The EU and Member States are resolved to "raise the challenge" and to do everything they can. Aid should go to the worst hit regions and to persons who have lost the most, children in particular, the conclusions state. The UN must play the leading role in coordinating and managing assistance to the victims. The Twenty-Five also thanked the local authorities and populations for their support to European citizens affected by the disaster.
EU humanitarian relief aid and aid for reconstruction amounting to a total of EUR 1.5 billion (EU and Member States together, see below), promised in Jakarta on Thursday by President of the European Council Jean-Claude Juncker and President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso (see yesterday's EUROPE, p.6) was confirmed on Friday by the Council. The conclusions explain that the above aid will be reported by at the donor conference in Geneva on 11 January. The Council welcomed the Commission's decision to offer in the short-term, in addition to the EUR 23 million already paid out, to provide EUR 100 mil from the EU's emergency fund in immediate additional financial aid to step up and continue the relief effort. The Council noted that the Budgetary Authority would be formalising the agreement at the start of next week (see page 6). The ministers also hailed the Commission's plan to provide extra medium and long-term aid of EUR 350 million for rehabilitation and reconstruction, as fast as possible. The Commission and the European Investment Bank were encouraged to continue preparing the launch of an Indian Ocean Tsunami Facility (of up to a billion euros, see p.6). the Council stressed the need of ensuring efficient transition from emergency humanitarian aid to the intermediate rehabilitation and the long-term reconstruction phase. Reconstruction should be organised in line with the priorities of the countries in question, respecting the principle of ownership. The ministers said that it was vital that public health capacities and structures were rapidly reconstructed as this was a vital precondition for successful reconstruction in other areas. The ministers pointed out in this connection that the EU would be helping the WHO in its work.
The Council warned that the whole world's generosity and solidarity in the face of the disaster in Asia must not lead people to forget the general problems with development, humanitarian aid and the Millennium Targets, particularly in Africa, and must not lead countries to reduce aid for other areas.
After being briefed by Commissioner Louis Michel and the Luxembourg development cooperation minister Jean-Louis Schiltz, both of whom had just returned from a several day fact-finding mission in the tsunami area, the Council welcomed the role played by some EU Member States' military in terms of providing logistical aid. The EU High Representative for CFSP, Javier Solana, was urged to examine the potential for better co-ordination of military capacity through the appropriate bodies in support of the United Nations Bureau for Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (BCAH).
Annexed to the conclusions adopted on Friday, the Council published a table of humanitarian and reconstruction aid pledged by the Member States individually and the EU: Austria EUR 8 million; Belgium EUR 30 million; Cyprus EUR 1 million; Czech Republic EUR 7.350 mil; Denmark EUR 57 mil; Estonia EUR 0.3 mil; Finland EUR 50 mil; France EUR 43.7 mil; Germany EUR 500 mil; Greece EUR 20.5 mil; Hungary 0.9 mil; Ireland 10 mil; Italy 70.2 mil; Latvia 0.140 mil; Lithuania 0.225 mil; Luxembourg 5.250 mil; Malta 8 mil; the Netherlands 30 mil; Poland 1.250 mil; Portugal 10.4 mil; Slovakia 0.275 mil; Slovenia 0.085 mil; Spain 55.57 mil; Sweden 55.4 mil; United Kingdom EUR 75 mil; European Union 473 mil. Total aid pledged by Europe to date amounts to EUR 1.513545 bn.