Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/1999-10-26-Speech-2-124"
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"en.19991026.4.2-124"2
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".
Mr President, the Commission has today accepted a report to Parliament and the Council, assessing ECHO. The Commission’s assessment is based upon a report by consultants. This report has been prepared by professional people. I think that this is the correct way to go about things. When, in the future, the Commission assesses activities in my own area, this ought to be done on the basis of such modern, professional and open methods. The consultants’ overall conclusion was positive, and the Commission shares this positive view of ECHO. However, we are alert to the fact that there are a number of things which can be improved.
First of all, cooperation needs to be improved. We need to improve our cooperation with the multinational organisations, the UN bodies and the Red Cross organisations. The intention is to help the international community respond more effectively and in a better coordinated way in different crises. The fact that ECHO is such a big aid organisation means that we also share a more general responsibility for its effectiveness. At the same time, it means that we should also make larger demands in cooperation with, among others, the various UN organisations. We need to establish a broader and more activity-based approach to individual humanitarian crises. This should be done within the framework of the existing regulations.
Secondly, there is the question of our management strategy. Improvements internal to ECHO should also be made. We should invest more highly in a concerted handling of the whole project cycle, which includes ensuring effective feedback. On this basis, we should to a greater degree be measuring results instead of input. There are also points on which we have disagreed with the consultants’ proposals. We do not, for example, wish to abolish ECHO’s logo. European taxpayers are entitled to know where the aid is going to, and there is no reason, either, to conceal from the recipients where the same aid is coming from. But ECHO’s visibility and its logo must not be permitted to hamper cooperation with our partners.
Thirdly, there are the policy considerations. In the longer term, the Commission wants to develop a cohesive strategy for the grey area here, that is to say the area between real humanitarian aid and longer-term, more future-oriented development work. At present, a lively international debate, in which the Commission is also to be an active participant, is taking place about this so-called transition gap. What is more, the Commission’s internal resources are to be mobilised so that they can release the required humanitarian aid in individual situations when the time is ripe. The objective is to give ECHO the opportunity to define a meaningful exit strategy in connection with different crises.
Combining the two portfolios of development and humanitarian aid provides a better opportunity for this, not least on the basis of the fact that both ECHO’s sphere of work and the Commissioner’s responsibility for development policy are global in character. The plan is to present a report on this subject in June 2000. The Commission will also launch a debate about other important policy areas: conflict prevention, preparedness in advance of crises and catastrophes, and humanitarian aid which is based upon upholding human rights, that is to say which focuses to a greater degree upon the victims’ rights as human beings. Special groups include women (especially victims of rape), child soldiers, refugees and internally displaced persons. In all these areas, a connection with the Commission’s development policy should naturally be guaranteed. The plan is to report on these areas in July 2001.
And, finally, the conclusions. ECHO is to continue to retain its non-partisan character in all conflicts. This is important for the purpose of securing access to the victims of crises. ECHO’s presence in a wide range of countries, each with its own workers who have been sent out, is an important link in an effective policy of humanitarian aid. ECHO is an organisation with its own power to act and with motivated staff who are ready to implement the proposed improvements. In the midst of all discussion about changes, it is important to state that ECHO’s committed and loyal staff are the most important asset we have to build upon. I am looking forward to seeing the results of the changes. It is my intention to visit East Timor in the very near future. This will be a good opportunity to see some concrete results of ECHO’s work and for me to do what I can to establish fruitful cooperation with all our partners."@en1
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