Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-01-12-Speech-3-144"
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"en.20050112.9.3-144"2
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"Mr President, may I start by apologising for the behaviour of some of my compatriots. I am very embarrassed that they are behaving in this way and interrupting when we are having a very serious debate about such tragic matters.
If we may continue – 26 December 2004 was not the same last year, nor will it ever be again. Disbelief turned into incomprehension, to grief, to sympathy; a plethora of emotions as we watched the tsunami tragedy unfold. The waves and quakes were a pervasive example of how our fates are shared with one another in a global theatre of environmental and natural risk.
As President of the South Asia Delegation, I would like to give my sincere condolences to all those affected by this tragedy. I have been very moved by the heartfelt global response to this unprecedented disaster. In the face of the tsunami, European citizens have been amongst the most generous.
Last week, I travelled to Chennai in South India to see at first hand the relief work by the European Commission and met with officials from UNDP, Unicef and NGOs. The EU's immediate response within 24 hours was highly commendable, as was the selfless Indian decision to ask that this aid should go to the worst affected areas, such as Sri Lanka and Indonesia. Therefore, I hope that the rumours of current funding to India being diverted to other areas are not true. Having seen the needs in India for myself, I hope they will not be ignored in the short term. I would demand that the Commission does not redeploy or reprogramme funds from any existing aid projects within this region. It would be criminal to take from the world's poorest to fund this tragedy. I welcome the Commission's promise of an extra EUR 350 million, but I was not convinced by President Barroso's explanation this morning, because for years humanitarian aid budgets for Asia have been in decline, from 70% in 1990 to 38% in 2000. Therefore, it is not acceptable that we divert money away from poverty eradication programmes; we should be adding more money.
We need to approach this tragedy differently from any other and explore the use of new specialist teams in those countries. It is not just money that is needed: we also need to give technical expertise. I would ask the Commission to look at enduring changes."@en1
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