Brussels, 06/09/2005 (Agence Europe) - By Tuesday, virtually all countries participating in the EU Civil Protection Mechanism had responded to the aid requests issued on Sunday by the American government following the havoc wreaked by Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana (New Orleans in particular, see EUROPE 9020). But the United States has not yet officially cleared the aid.
Twenty-one EU member states plus Romania and Norway have so far offered emergency assistance to the United States to alleviate the consequences of the hurricane Katrina (Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, The Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom). . The assistance consists of intervention teams of experts in various fields (medical, logistics, communication, search and rescue), equipment (tents/blankets, water purification equipment, water pumps, meals, generators etc), and transport. Only Portugal (still trying to tackle the forest fires) and Estonia have not notified the Commission's Monitoring and Information Centre of national resources they may be prepared to offer.
In a press release, European Commissioner Stavros Dimas praised the response from European countries to help the US cope with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina: 'By pooling civil protection resources of member states we are able to provide a common response that is more effective than any member state can deliver on its own. This is a clear example of EU added-value. I also welcome our close cooperation with the UK Presidency to best match the needs on site with the offers made.”
An EU field coordinator will be appointed on Wednesday to coordinate EU assistance on site in view of the evolution of the situation. The UK Presidency is in contact with the US authorities to match the needs in the disaster struck areas with the list made up by the Commission's Monitoring and Information Centre of offers made by European countries.