Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-03-11-Speech-4-084"
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"en.20100311.5.4-084"2
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"Mr President, I make this statement on behalf of my colleague, Kristalina Georgieva, Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response. Why instead of her? It is pretty clear and obvious. Commissioner Georgieva arrived in Chile yesterday, 10 March, to visit areas affected by the recent earthquake and to follow the work of European humanitarian and civil protection experts there on the ground.
The Commission’s emergency humanitarian response system was launched simultaneously in Brussels and in ECHO’s Managua regional office covering Latin America.
Potential partners for fast-track funding with the capacity to provide immediate relief assistance were contacted and ECHO field experts were mobilised to travel to the earthquake zone at the first available opportunity. A three million primary emergency decision was adopted early on Sunday morning. Humanitarian grant agreements have now been concluded with four partner agencies: Telecom Sans Frontières from France to provide emergency telecommunications services; the Pan-American Health Organisation and the Spanish Red Cross to help re-establish health services, and the German Red Cross to supply shelter, safe water and basic household essentials.
ECHO deployed a team of two humanitarian aid experts who arrived in Chile on the morning of Monday, 1 March to carry out needs assessments and to meet with the authorities and potential implementing partners. Two more members of the team arrived the following day and they were joined by a fifth some days later.
An EU civil protection mechanism, a team of six experts, is also now in Chile. Four are working in the earthquake zone near Concepción, while two are currently based in Santiago to liaise with authorities and coordinate the response of European Union Member States.
The ECHO humanitarian experts and the EU civil protection team are undertaking joint assessments with OCHA and several UN agencies in the most affected areas.
Immediately after arriving in Chile’s capital Santiago, Commissioner Georgieva travelled to the area most affected by the earthquake and tsunami, including the coastal region around Constitución, Talca, and Concepción.
During her field visit she met representatives of ECHO partners working in the area, visited the monitoring and information centre base camp in Penco and had bilateral contacts with Chilean authorities in the region.
Commissioner Georgieva will also represent President Barroso during the inauguration of President Sebastián Piñera in Valparaíso later today.
The massive earthquake and subsequent tsunami that struck Chile in the early hours of Saturday 27 February are a terrible tragedy. The latest official figures indicate that at least 528 people have been killed, and that number is expected to rise. More than two million people are affected. The damage to infrastructure has been enormous and half a million homes have been seriously damaged.
The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the Commission, Cathy Ashton, called Chile’s Foreign Minister, Mariano Fernández, the same day to express our condolences to the families of the victims and indicate our readiness to provide assistance and support.
As soon as news of the earthquake broke, ECHO’s emergency response system was mobilised. The EU civil protection mechanism immediately issued a pre-alert message to the participating states. The crisis room of the monitoring and information centre (MIC) operated throughout that first weekend, obtaining reports about the scale and impact of the earthquake, identifying civil protection assets that could be available for rapid deployment. Commissioner Georgieva went to the crisis room during the day to direct operations.
A number of European Union Member States have notified the MIC of assistance deployed or offered. This includes personnel and equipment already sent to Concepción from Spain, Germany, France and the United Kingdom, funding pledges from Finland, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, and offers of bridges, tents, field kitchens and generators from Bulgaria, Slovakia, Sweden and Austria.
The Chilean authorities have signalled their acceptance of offers of help made by the European Union Member States."@en1
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