Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-01-12-Speech-3-175"
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"en.20050112.9.3-175"2
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".
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of the Presidency, I would like to thank the European Parliament for this debate, which testifies to the great groundswell of solidarity shown by the peoples of Europe when this terrible calamity struck. The Council has listened carefully not only to your House’s suggestions, observations, and comments, but also to its criticisms.
I would also like to highlight the issue of debt relief, concerning which a meeting has been held today. I believe that the help countries need with this must indeed be given to those who ask for it.
My final, and important, point has to do with preventing natural disasters and giving early warning of them. We need to invest more in this area. The fact is that we must make use of all the technological means at our disposal in order, in so far as possible, to prevent a repetition of such catastrophes as these or, at least, to limit the fallout from them.
I would like to make it very clear that Europe has been neither inactive nor passive. It acted quickly – very quickly, indeed – and at every level, in providing humanitarian aid, organising consular cooperation, maintaining a state of alert, preventing the outbreak of epidemics, and, politically, confirming the UN in its coordinating role.
There has also been very effective cooperation between Parliament and the Council. This very morning, in the context of the trialogue, which took only a few minutes, we managed to raise EUR 100 million, that being the first instalment of additional humanitarian aid. What this shows is that, in cases of urgency, our institutions work marvellously well. The measures decided on by the Council on 7 January are being monitored on a regular basis and the Council will ensure that any further action that proves to be necessary is taken.
Close coordination with the UN, with the other donors, and with NGOs on the ground will continue, thereby guaranteeing the aid’s maximum effectiveness.
I also commit the Presidency to a continuation of this dialogue with Parliament and to regular exchanges of views with it on the various measures that are decided on in order to address the problems faced by the countries affected by the disaster.
Although I am unable to reply to all the questions that honourable Members have raised, there are some that I would like to revisit, starting with the question of the need to reinforce the European instrument for coordinating civil protection. To be sure, this instrument already exists, but its coordination needs to be improved and its means reinforced. The President of the Commission this morning announced that it would be submitting to the next General Affairs Council proposals for improving this instrument. This is quite definitely an important and core issue.
Among the other issues that have been raised, I would refer in particular to that of the vulnerability of children, to which we must attach enormous importance, cooperating fully not only with UNICEF, but also with specialised NGOs in this field.
Another question touched upon the internal conflicts raging in at least two of the countries affected by the disaster. These internal conflicts must not, of course, be allowed in any way to prevent humanitarian aid being given and getting through to the people who need it. No doubt the European Union will be able to involve itself further in helping these countries to find solutions to these conflicts, by which they have already been ravaged for some time, even for many years.
The Council also undertakes to monitor the performance of its commitments, particularly the financial ones, to follow up its aid and to remain present on the ground, particularly during the reconstruction period, which will be crucial, in that it will follow the humanitarian aid stage, and Europe must very definitely be present and involved in it."@en1
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