20/07/2006 (Agence Europe) - Karl von Wogau (CDU), president of the European Parliament's security and defence subcommittee declared in a press release that the evacuation of Europeans from Lebanon ought to be better organised. He said that people needing to be evacuated should be assembled in the nearest departure point, independent of nationality. He insisted that “in view of genuine European solidarity, the evacuation of Europeans from the smallest Member States should not be dependent on the fact that a bigger Member State has more space on one of its boats or planes”. He exhorted the EU to set up its own capabilities for evacuation and rescue operations because in a crisis, “speed is the essence”. Mr Wogau also exclaimed that “if Europe assumes common responsibility for elections in Congo, they it should assume such common responsibility for the evacuation of Europeans from crisis hit areas”.