Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-01-18-Speech-2-598-000"
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"en.20110118.22.2-598-000"2
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"Madam President, we are also delivering on the reconstruction front. The EU as a whole – that is, the Union and the Member States – has already committed EUR 600 million out of its EUR 1.2 billion pledge in New York, and has already disbursed EUR 330 million.
As part of the overall EU commitment, the Union’s pledge was initially announced at EUR 460 million, and we consider it necessary to increase that to EUR 522 million. Out of this pledge, we have already committed EUR 327 million. Ongoing programmes were adjusted, by extending their duration and/or by increasing the financial envelopes, to respond better to revised priorities. New programmes were put in place to address additional needs.
Disbursements strictly linked to the pledge amounted to EUR 74 million in 2010. I believe that, given the situation in Haiti, this is quite a good result. One has to realise that the situation there, which was already very difficult before the earthquake, became immensely challenging in its aftermath and even more complicated later – due to Hurricane Tomas, the cholera epidemic and political instability. Aid workers and technical experts were often working in quite difficult conditions.
Other factors which we need to bear in mind include, firstly, the fact that medium-term to long-term reconstruction assistance is implemented over three to five years and disbursements are spread over the programme’s duration: 2010 was mainly dedicated to committing funds and launching project preparations, including all necessary technical studies and tenders. More concrete activities will be starting in 2011 and we believe that disbursements against the pledge will double to EUR 150 million during this year.
EU development aid so far has focused, first of all, on providing necessary functions for the government to help deliver the basic services of the state, such as the running of the education system, the healthcare system and the police, and the ability to provide staff in the public sector. The second priority has been immediate reinforcement and reconstruction of strategic infrastructure and roads; and the third priority has been strengthening Haitian disaster preparedness and civil protection mechanisms and structures.
We have set ourselves the goal of rebuilding a stronger Haiti, following the earthquake, on more solid foundations. It is very clear that we need a strong Haitian Government and we need to focus on priorities. So we very much follow the priorities identified for us by the Haitian Government. They would really like to strengthen governance – with a particular focus that includes budget support, and taking into account the limited level of government revenue – and to invest substantially in infrastructure, particularly in roads.
Where can we learn lessons in order to improve the situation? Well, we could coordinate the aid better and strengthen cooperation between the Commission and the Member States. We are now finalising the joint programme in a process that involves the EU Member States.
We also have good experience of working with all our partners in the Interim Haiti Reconstruction Commission, and this definitely helps to speed up the process. I believe, however, that we must pursue our strong wish to achieve stability in terms of both aid and the democratic functioning of Haiti, because that is clearly a precondition if the efforts of the EU and the entire international community are to be successful.
Honourable Members, we are trying to do our best, but it is clear that we can work better. We have learned from our experiences: the EU is definitely living up to its pledge and to our commitment. So I believe that, while the situation as sometimes portrayed in the media is quite accurate from one perspective, we are advancing. I believe that in 2011, we will see significant changes on the ground – provided that political stability is established in Haiti, because instability is definitely hampering our efforts – and we will focus those efforts on rebuilding Haiti."@en1
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