Brussels, 15/12/2005 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has decided to earmark an additional EUR 20 million of humanitarian aid to the victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami. The decision was announced on Thursday several days ahead of the first anniversary of the disaster (Boxing Day 2004). As the anniversary of the Asian tsunami approaches, the European Commission and the EU Presidency will host a high-level meeting with other international partners in Brussels on 20 December to take stock of what has been achieved in relations to the sheer scale of the damage caused by the tsunami and the unprecedented levels of financial aid pledged. The event will bring together representatives of the EU, the UN, the World Bank, and aid organisations like the International Red Cross. Representatives from the countries worst affected by the Tsunami will also be present. International Development Minister Gareth Thomas will attend for the British Presidency, and the European Commission will be represented by Commissioner for External Relations Benita Ferrero-Waldner and Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, Louis Michel.
The new tranche of EUR 20 mil will come from ECHO's budget (the European Commission's humanitarian aid department) for meeting the needs of displaced people and vulnerable local communities in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and India while reconstruction programmes are implemented (healthcare, drinking water, cleaning up, shelter, regenerating livelihoods). Commissioner Louis Michel said that almost a year on from the tsunami, it is generally agreed that the emergency aid was perfectly capable of meeting the immediate demands for food, shelter, healthcare, drinking water and clearing up, but the transition from emergency aid to reconstruction will be a long drawn out process. It is clear, he said, that humanitarian aid is still required to relieve and prevent suffering, particularly for people still living in transit camps,
The new aid comes on top of the EUR 103 mil in humanitarian aid already pledged by the European Commission, most of which (EUR 100.667 mil) has already been spent. In a press release, the European Commission explained that 'at the Jakarta Donors' Conference of January 2005, the Commission and EU Member States together pledged more than €2 billion for tsunami affected countries'.
At Jakarta, the EUR 2 bn pledged by European Commission and Member States breaks down as follows: €566 million for humanitarian aid (ECHO and Member States), €452 million of which has been spent to date (80%); €1.5 billion in grants for reconstruction assistance, of which €902 million have been committed (61%) and €367 million disbursed. The Commission is providing about a quarter of EU reconstruction aid grants (€350 million); loans of €566 million have been pledged by Member States and the European Investment Bank from which €115 million has been disbursed. Reconstruction programmes are underway with a particular focus on infrastructure and regenerating livelihoods, coupled with sustained political efforts to ensure peace and stability in areas affected by conflict.