Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-07-05-Speech-4-047"
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"en.20010705.3.4-047"2
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"This has been an interesting if short debate. I would like to comment on a couple of the points that were raised, though I am sure we will have opportunities on other occasions to follow up the speech on sovereignty that was made by Mr Deva. Mrs Schörling, asked what we were doing in order to oblige Member States to meet the UN target for development assistance. Had Mrs Schörling been able to be present for the debate we had earlier today on the G8, she would have heard how much I sympathise with the objective which she has, but it is an argument that one has to put to the governments of Members States and to their parliaments, which vote on this public spending of those governments. I sympathise, particularly against the background of declining aid flows in the 1990s.
Mrs Maij-Weggen knows that I share her concern about the situation in Indonesia, not least the situation in the Moluccas and some of the other islands and provinces and I assure Mrs Maij-Weggen that we will be allocating EUR 3 million to the Moluccas next year and for future years, if that is required.
I would like, however, to begin the substantive part of my speech by congratulating Mrs Carrilho, for the quality of this report. I am very well aware of the difficult work conditions and the time pressure. The analysis, conclusions and amendments contained in her report are, in the Commission's judgment, of the highest quality and contribute to improving significantly the original Commission proposal. I say that without any qualification. We share all the concerns and the recommendations contained in the honourable Member's report. I would also like to thank the Committee on Budgets and the Committee on Budgetary Control for their contributions to this debate.
On 21 June, the international community celebrated the 50th anniversary of the 1951 Geneva Convention on the status of refugees. Unfortunately, there was not much to celebrate. Today, there are more 22 million uprooted people in the world and that figure is increasing. Every day from Afghanistan- and I will certainly look into the points raised by Mr Blak – to Colombia, from the Balkans to the region of the Great Lakes, thousands of families are displaced by war, famine and poverty. We know that the international community is affected by donor fatigue. The UNHCR is struggling to find the resources to cope with these human tragedies and has recently downsized its operations. Again, in response to the honourable lady, we are involved in discussion not only with the UNHCR, but with other UN organisations to try to put our financial relationship with them on a more sensible footing.
It is a good time to state clearly that the European Community will continue to earmark financial and human resources to help uprooted people to go back to their homes, to start a new life and live in peace and security. Parliament has decided to send a political signal in this respect by proposing an increase in the financial resources available and we welcome this proposal. Since 1997, more than EUR 200 million have been committed to finance projects throughout Asia and Latin America in favour of uprooted people. Money has been used to help refugees to live a decent in camps, to return to their home country, or to resettle in a third one and to become self-sufficient. The budget line has financed projects to protect uprooted populations in the host countries on their way home and at their final destination. It has helped host communities to accept and integrate uprooted families. Most of all it has ensured the presence of the international community in the delicate transition from humanitarian aid to long-term development – a point raised by Mr Deva – by rebuilding homes and schools, ensuring access to drinking water and irrigation, improving health and education services, setting up credit facilities and restoring economic activity.
Indeed, the evaluation carried out in 2000, though indicating a series of management weaknesses that the Commission has addressed with its reform of external aid, confirmed that the budget line is highly relevant and should be continued. Coming to the specific amendments proposed by Parliament, the Commission agrees with all the changes proposed. First, we appreciate the strengthening of the human rights of the regulation; second, the clarification of the role of the regulation in the continuum of relief, rehabilitation and development; third, the reinforcement of control monitoring and reporting functions and finally, the strengthening of peace- building and conflict management dimensions of the regulation along the lines of the recently adopted Commission communication on conflict prevention.
Concerning the duration of the regulation, the Commission originally proposed that the regulation should be valid for an indefinite period of time to avoid periodic discussion on a question which seems, sadly, unlikely to go away or change in nature in a significant way. However, we consider that December 2004 is a very reasonable compromise, particularly in the light of our intention to revise the Asia and Latin America regulation, and will examine the possibility of incorporating the question of uprooted people into a single geographical instrument.
Finally, we take note of the desire of the Parliament to earmark, for the operations to be financed under this regulations, financial resources beyond the amount already programmed. Once again, I would like to thank the rapporteur for the excellent job which she has done and I hope that as a result our programmes in this very important sector will be both generous and better focused and managed."@en1
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