35 EU disaster and crisis response
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8382/05
COM(05) 153
| Commission Communication: "Reinforcing EU Disaster and Crisis Response in third countries"
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| Legal base | — |
| Document originated | 20 April 2005
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| Deposited in Parliament | 17 May 2005
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| Department | International Development
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| Basis of consideration | EM of 17 May 2005
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| Previous Committee Report | None
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| To be discussed in Council | 23-24 May GAERC
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| Committee's assessment | Politically important
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| Committee's decision | Cleared, but relevant to any debate on the proposed new instruments for EU external assistance
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Background
35.1 At the December 1999 Helsinki European Council, EU Member
States set themselves a military capability target known as the
Headline Goal, which called for Member States to be able to deploy
60,000 troops, within 60 days and sustainable for a year, in support
of "Petersberg Tasks",[137]
which presently include humanitarian and rescue tasks; peacekeeping
tasks; and tasks of combat forces in crisis management, including
peacemaking (referred to as "peace enforcement" in some
contexts). EU-led forces assembled in response to a crisis would
remain in being only for the duration of the crisis and it would
be up to the Member States themselves to decide whether, when
and how to contribute troops.
35.2 Civilian assets were pledged at the June 2000
European Council in Santa Maria da Feira. Member States agreed
that they would be able to provide 5,000 police officers for international
missions for a range of conflict prevention and crisis management
operations by 2003; and to identify and deploy up to 1,000 police
officers within 30 days when needed. While the Headline Goal is
specifically related to EU Member States, the contributions of
non-EU countries are welcomed.
35.3 With the adoption in December 2003 of the EU
Security Strategy, Member States decided to set themselves a new
Headline Goal that better reflected the evolution of the strategic
environment and technology — "Headline Goal 2010".
This envisages Member States being "able by 2010 to respond
with rapid and decisive action applying a fully coherent approach
to the whole spectrum of crisis management operations covered
by the Treaty of the European Union", and was endorsed by
the June 2004 European Council. The milestones identified for
the period up to 2010 include establishing a civil-military cell
within the European Union Military Staff, with the capacity rapidly
to set up an operation centre for a particular operation (which
we consider elsewhere in the Report). Likewise, a revised civilian
"Headline Goal 2008" was endorsed at the December 2004
European Council. Although the details are yet to be elaborated,
civilian missions are foreseen as monitoring missions as well
as supporting EU Special Representatives on the ground (e.g. on
security sector reform, support for disarmament, demobilization
and reintegration processes). Civilian ESDP capabilities should
continue to be deployable within thirty days of the decision to
launch a mission, autonomously, jointly or in close collaboration
with military operations.
The Commission Communication
35.4 The Commission explains that this Communication
is its response to the EU Action Plan presented by the Luxembourg
Presidency at the General Affairs and External Relations Council
(GAERC) of 31 January 2005 following the Indian Ocean tsunami
of 26 December 2004. Europe's response was "immediate and
generous". But while this demonstrated "the depth and
extent of the collective resources that the Union can draw upon
through Community and bi-lateral programmes, as well as its new
military capabilities, it also brought home both the operational
and political complexity of disaster and crisis preparedness and
response". The Presidency's subsequent Action Plan addresses
three main issues:
· measures
taken to address the needs of the regions affected by the tsunami;
· measures
to improve the EU's capacity to respond, including the coherence
and efficiency of the response; and
· measures
concerning prevention, early warning and preparation for future
disasters.
35.5 This Communication builds on that plan and includes
two annexes: measures taken by the Commission to address the needs
of the areas affected by the tsunami (a €350 million programme
of longer-term reconstruction and a series of "flanking measures,
including trade concessions and the European Investment Bank's
activities") and a description of the range of Community
instruments and programmes which contribute to early warning and
disaster preparedness around the world. The Commission's proposals
"share the common objective of promoting efficiency, coherence
and coordination between the different external policy instruments
of the Union in situations of disaster and crisis, while preserving
their distinct mandates, and in particular what is known as the
'humanitarian space'".[138]
They are intended to ensure that the Commission can:
· make
an effective contribution to the development of policies and practices
at EU level relating to disaster and crisis response;
· support
improved operational coordination between the Commission, the
Member States and the General Secretariat of the Council;
· address
major gaps in administrative capacity; and
· contribute
to the strengthening of the wider international framework for
disaster and crisis response.
35.6 The Commission explains that the principal instruments
for immediate EU disaster response are Community humanitarian
aid (delivered under Council Regulation (EC) No. 1257/96) and
Member States' capabilities mobilised under the EC Civil Protection
Mechanism (CPM, upon which the Commission has produced a separate
but related Communication, "Improving the Community Civil
Protection Mechanism", which we consider elsewhere in this
Report). They respond to a variety of policies and mandates:
"humanitarian, stabilisation, reconstruction and sustainable
development goals, economic cooperation and fundamental rights".
In addition to the CPM, internal programmes in the field of research,
information society and justice, liberty and security and fisheries
are brought to bear. "A further dimension is brought by
the military and civilian capabilities being developed under the
Common Foreign and Security Policy", which "may complement
and strengthen delivery of aid under both of these mechanisms".
Furthermore, "strategic planning scenarios for so-called
'Petersberg' humanitarian tasks using both civilian and military
assets are currently being developed. These instruments are closely
followed by short and medium term EC disaster and crisis assistance
under its Rapid Reaction Mechanism[139]
and its core external assistance programmes. The precise sequencing
of this assistance depends on the nature of the event and a wide
variety of civilian and military actors may be present in the
field at any one time". While this diversity of capabilities
is seen as one of the strengths of the Union, "the double
challenge is to ensure an efficient, rapid and flexible response
in the face of emergencies as well as to mobilise and develop
these resources in a coherent manner, and to build on their respective
strengths".
35.7 In his Explanatory Memorandum of 17 May 2005,
the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for
International Development (Mr Gareth Thomas) helpfully summarises
the main proposals for achieving these objectives.
"On the policy framework, the Commission
proposes to:
· agree
common standards for all humanitarian disaster response at a European
level;
· integrate
the Barcelona Commitments[140]
on harmonisation of policies and procedures into the planning
process under the Civilian Headline Goal (which sets out the EU's
ambitions for civilian European and Security Development Policy)
and the Civil Military Cell (which employs the EU's civilian and
military instruments in responding to crisis);
· use
current work under the Civilian Headline Goal to enhance capacity
to respond to disasters under civilian European and Security Development
Policy (ESDP).
"On EU response capacities, the Communication
proposes to:
· enhance
preparedness by pre-positioning basic medical items in regional
hubs via Unicef, World Health Organisation (WHO) and the International
Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC);
· improve
analysis and evaluation capacity by increasing the number of EC
Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO) field experts from 69 to 150;
· reinforce
UN rapid assessment capacity, and work with and recognise the
lead role of UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
(OCHA);
· assess
existing humanitarian volunteer schemes and suggest an EU role
in this field;
· create
Commission Reconstruction Assessment and Planning teams, bringing
together desk officers and specialists from across the Commission,
deployable at short notice for missions of up to a month;
· appoint
two Commission Liaison Officers to the Council Civil Military
Cell to promote coherence between Community and Council-lead action,
and improve exchange of information with the Council Joint Situation
Centre and draw up a permanent system of focal points in Member
States' development agencies.
· "On
long-term capabilities, the Communication proposes the
creation of a permanent structure to provide mission administration,
logistics and procurement for Community-funded electoral observation
missions.
· "On
early warning, the Commission suggests supporting the UN's
International Strategy for Disaster Reduction and the Group of
Earth Observations."
The Government's view
35.8 The Minister says that the UK is "generally
supportive of the proposal to reinforce EU disaster and crisis
response in third countries" and that his "overall views"
are as follows:
"We welcome the call for closer coordination
between the Commission and Member State-led efforts. The EU is
unique in being able to offer a coordinated civil military response,
but for this to be effective, close cooperation is vital.
"We wish to emphasise the lead role of the UN
and want more cooperation with the same to improve needs assessments,
communication channels and ability to respond rapidly.
"We want to emphasise the lead role of civil
agencies in disaster relief. Military assets can provide support
in certain circumstances, but only at the request of the relevant
civil agencies and in keeping with the UN's Oslo guidelines on
the use of military and civil defence assets in disaster relief.
"On the detailed proposals, we agree with the
Commission recommendation to establish common standards for all
humanitarian disaster response at a European level. We also welcome
their acknowledgement of the importance of the UN Guidelines on
the use of Military Defence Assets in Humanitarian Operations.
We welcome the Commission's plan to improve preparedness working
with UNICEF, the WHO and the International Federation of the Red
Cross (IFRC) and its intention to support OCHA.
"We support the proposal to increase the Commission's
assessment and planning capacity through ECHO. But we would like
to see this evolve as part of UN Humanitarian Coordinator (UN
HC)-led, country-focused efforts rather than as parallel, potentially
duplicatory, processes. Under its initiative to reform the international
humanitarian system the UK is looking to give a strong leadership
role to the UN HC. In the medium term, we would therefore wish
to see close cooperation between the EU's needs assessment capacity
and the UN HC.
"We have reservations about the merits of creating
a EU voluntary corps for humanitarian aid. We do not want any
duplication with existing UN or Red Cross schemes and question
whether the volunteer concept works well in this field where situations
can be dangerous and experience is required. We will await the
outcome of the study and consider its recommendations.
"We welcome the Commission proposal to appoint
two liaison officers to the Civil Military cell. Increased cooperation
between Community and Council-led actions is critical to ensure
effective response.
"We welcome the EC's intention to support the
International Strategy for Disaster Reduction. We also welcome
the focus on science and technological aspects of disaster risk
reduction. However, we would have liked to see mention of the
EC's role in other aspects of disaster risk reduction including
tackling issues around vulnerability reduction and governance.
"The Commission proposes to put in place interim
measures to accelerate procurement for CFSP missions. This is
welcome. Work on improving procurement is long overdue and a real
obstacle to rapid reaction."
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
35.9 The Minister explains that the financial implications
fall to Member States themselves according to what they will provide
in future responses. Any civilian ESDP mission in response to
a disaster would be funded from the CFSP budget (of which the
UK contributes 18%) and Member States' own resources.
35.10 As for the Commission, he says that it
"committed €103 million (£69.8 million)
in response to the Tsunami covering short-term relief and also
small scale rehabilitation activities. At the Jakarta Donors'
Conference in January 2005, the European Commission pledged €350
million (£237.1 million) for longer-term reconstruction support.
A Tsunami Indicative Programme is about to be adopted with specific
activities currently under preparation. ECHO is supporting early
warning systems and disaster preparedness in South Asia, the Caribbean,
and the Pacific, including a €39 million (£26.4 million)
programme to strengthen sea defences in Guyana. The Community's
Information Society Technologies programmes have set aside €40
million (£27.1 million) for projects related to the integration
of in-situ sensors for risk monitoring, and public safety communication.
The Community's Research Infrastructure programme has established
a high-speed global telecommunications network to link international
research organisations and other public bodies. The European Space
Agency and the UN satellite office (UNOSAT) are already using
these resources, including in response to the Indian Ocean Tsunami
(equivalent yearly value some €60 million (£40.7 million)."
35.11 Finally, he says that Development Ministers
were likely to adopt Council Conclusions on this report at the
23-24 May General Affairs and External Relations Council.[141]
Conclusion
35.12 Given the scientific consensus on the increasing
likelihood of climatic extremes, it is sensible for the Commission
to be thinking about how to add value at EU level to the work
of international agencies and the Member States, and how better
to integrate its own contribution with theirs and that of the
Council. The Minister's comments on the individual proposals
appear well-judged — particularly the emphasis he places
on the lead role of civil agencies in disaster relief and on the
need to keep the leadership role of the UN Humanitarian Coordinator
always in mind.
35.13 The Commission refers to a new Stability
Instrument as the means to "streamline the Community response
to disaster and crisis … based on the logic of consolidating
financial resources within a single integrated instrument".
That is one of four such new Instruments, which are designed
to consolidate, from 2007 onwards, the multitude of existing instruments
under which EU external assistance is currently provided. When
our predecessors considered these, they said that as soon as the
Secretary of State informed us that discussion in the relevant
Working Groups had reached the point where it would be worthwhile,
they were minded to recommend them and the accompanying Commission
Communication for debate.[142]
We regard the present Communication as relevant to that debate.
137 The missions assigned to the EU military force
are currently described in Article 17.2 of the EU Treaty: "Questions
referred to in this Article shall include humanitarian and rescue
tasks, peacekeeping tasks and tasks of combat forces in crisis
management, including peacemaking". The text is taken from
the WEU's Petersberg declaration of June 1992; hence "Petersberg
tasks". Back
138
Defined as "the operational conditions necessary to allow
neutral, impartial and non-discriminatory delivery of humanitarian
aid, and to ensure free and direct access to disaster victims". Back
139
The Rapid Reaction Mechanism is designed to allow the Community
to respond urgently to the needs of EC partner countries threatened
with or undergoing severe political instability or suffering from
the effects of a technological or natural disaster by supporting
measures aimed at safeguarding or re-establishing the conditions
under which the countries can pursue their long term development
goals. The total budget for 2005 is €30 million. Back
140
The commitments made by the EU at the Barcelona Summit in March
2002, in advance of the Monterrey International Conference on
Financing for Development, which included concrete steps on coordination
and harmonisation of procedures across the EU before 2004. Back
141
In the event, with the Commission "drawing attention"
to its suggestions, the Council concluded that work on the Action
Plan should continue, particularly on an EU rapid-response capacity,
and agreed to keep this issue on its agenda and to return to it
regularly. Back
142
26042-45; 13687-90/04; see HC 38-i (2004-05), para 13 (1 December
2004) and HC 38-v (2004-05), para 2 (26 January 2005). Back
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