14 European disaster response: the role
of civil protection and humanitarian assistance
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15614/10
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COM(10) 600
| Commission Communication: Towards a stronger European Disaster Response: the role of civil protection and humanitarian assistance
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| Legal base | —
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| Department | Cabinet Office
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| Basis of consideration | Minister's letter of 13 December 2010
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| Previous Committee Report | HC 428-ix (2010-11), chapter 9 (24 November 2010)
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| To be discussed in Council | 14 December 2010 General Affairs Council
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| Committee's assessment | Politically important
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| Committee's decision | Cleared
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Background
14.1 The Union has, since 2001, had a Civil Protection
Mechanism which seeks to strengthen co-operation between the EU
and its Member States in the event of major emergencies, such
as a natural or man-made disaster, acts of terrorism, or damage
to the environment, which occur within or outside the EU. Member
States participating in the Civil Protection Mechanism are required
to identify in advance intervention teams and any other forms
of support which may be mobilised in response to an emergency.
A 24-hour Monitoring and Information Centre serves as a communications
hub for any emergency relief operations launched under the Civil
Protection Mechanism, disseminates information (including early
warnings) and seeks to match offers of assistance to actual needs
and identify any gaps in aid.
14.2 The Treaty on the Functioning of the European
Union (TFEU) makes clear that the principal responsibility for
civil protection rests with the Member States, but provides that
the EU has competence to "support, co-ordinate or supplement"
their actions (Article 6 TFEU). The Treaty establishes a specific
new legal base for civil protection — Article 196 —
which states that action by the Union shall aim to:
a) support and complement
Member States' action at national, regional and local level in
risk prevention, in preparing their civil protection personnel
and in responding to natural or man-made disasters within the
Union;
b) promote swift, effective operational co-operation
within the Union between national civil protection services; and
c) promote consistency in international civil
protection work.
14.3 There are two different
Treaty Articles which deal, respectively, with emergencies outside
the EU and those within the EU.
14.4 For internal emergencies, Article 222 TFEU —
the "Solidarity clause" — states that the Union
and its Member States "shall act jointly in a spirit of solidarity"
and mobilise all available instruments to assist a Member State
(at its request) in the event of a terrorist attack or a natural
or man-made disaster. Arrangements for implementing the solidarity
clause are to be based on a proposal put forward by the Commission
and the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
and must be adopted by unanimity if they involve the use of military
resources or have defence implications.
14.5 For external emergencies, Article 214 TFEU on
humanitarian aid provides for "ad hoc assistance and relief
and protection for people in third countries who are victims of
natural or man-made disasters, in order to meet the humanitarian
needs resulting from these different situations." EU operations
and those of Member States should complement each other and be
mutually reinforcing. The EU must also ensure that its operations
are co-ordinated and consistent with other humanitarian bodies,
notably those operating under the UN umbrella.
14.6 A new Commissioner has been created, whose portfolio
(held by Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva) brings together the
instruments for civil protection and emergency response, and which
will require close coordination with both the High Representative
of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President
(Baroness Catherine Ashton).
14.7 For humanitarian aid outside the EU, the Commissioner
will be responsible for the swift and effective delivery of aid
and the promotion of respect for international humanitarian law.
The EU's humanitarian grants cover emergency aid, food aid and
aid to refugees and displaced person, totalling more than €700
million per annum. The Commission's DG for humanitarian aid (widely
known as ECHO) also:
— monitors humanitarian projects and sets
up coordination arrangements;
— promotes and coordinates disaster prevention
measures;
— gives its partners technical assistance;
and
— finances network and training initiatives
in the humanitarian field.
14.8 For disaster response outside
the EU, the Commissioner will be able to draw on a range of EU
instruments, including civil protection assets provided by Member
States.
14.9 The Commissioner will be supported in both tasks
by the EU Monitoring and Information Centre (MIC), which is run
by the Commission and is operational 24 hours a day. Any country
affected by a disaster, inside or outside the EU, can launch a
request for assistance through the MIC.
14.10 Commissioner Georgieva will also have a role
in supporting the Commissioner responsible for Home Affairs (Cecilia
Malmström), who will be responsible for crisis response within
the EU.
The Commission Communication
14.11 Against this background
and that of increasing disasters both within the EU and internationally,
the Commission sets out proposals for EU action to build upon
existing European disaster response capacity, by enhancing its
efficiency, coherence and visibility. The proposals address the
potential response to disasters inside and outside the EU. They
consider both civil protection and humanitarian assistance in
the context of Lisbon Treaty provisions and a desire to achieve
greater cost-effectiveness. The main proposals concern:
— creation of a European Response Capacity
based on pre-committed assets of Member States and on pre-agreed
contingency plans;
— pre-positioning of relief assets; improved
needs assessments; shared, more effective and more cost-effective
logistics; coordinated and cost-effective transport;
— use of Member States' military assets
and Common Security and Defence Policy support for EU disaster
response;
— developing an enhanced 24/7 Emergency
Response Centre covering both intra-EU and external disaster preparedness
and management;
— strengthening coordination with the UN,
the Red Cross and Red Crescent and international humanitarian
NGOs; and
— ways to present a more visible EU response.
14.12 In her Explanatory Memorandum
of 15 November 2010, the Minister for Security at the Home Office
(Baroness Neville-Jones) explained that she is responsible for
cross-cutting resilience policy and is supported in this role
by the Cabinet Office's National Security Secretariat.
Legal aspects
14.13 The Minister noted that
the Communication is not draft legislation referring to any specific
legal base and contains no legislative proposals. However, she
also noted that it envisages legislative proposals in 2011 to
implement its main policy ideas, and makes reference to TFEU Articles
on Civil Protection (Article 196), Humanitarian Aid (Article 214)
and the Solidarity Clause (Article 222).
14.14 The Minister further noted that, if the Commission
brings forward legislative proposals under Articles 196 and 214
TFEU, then these would require qualified majority voting in Council;
and that proposals with defence implications would require unanimity
in accordance with the Article 31 TEU.
Subsidiarity
14.15 The Minister noted that
the Commission's impact assessment accompanying the Communication
states that the difficulties of multilateral cooperation among
Member States demonstrate the need for EU-level action and coordination
to address disaster-related time-critical situations with a strong
transnational or multinational component; that current arrangements
do not appear to guarantee sufficient European assistance; and
that purely domestic action cannot guarantee an effective, coherent
and visible EU response to disasters. She then said:
"However, the Communication's proposals
for EU-level action and for enabling a guaranteed response are
not sufficiently detailed to rule out future concerns over subsidiarity.
The Government's view is that the consistency of the Commission's
proposals with the principle of subsidiarity has yet to be examined;
and HMG will continue rigorously to uphold this principle."
The Government's view
14.16 The Minister's detailed
comments are set out in our previous Report.[111]
They included a number of cautionary words: for example, about
the notion of a European Response Capacity based on pre-committed
assets of Member States and pre-agreed contingency plans; about
any Commission initiatives that might seek to claim additional
competence for EU institutions in the consular field; about any
changes to the present highly-circumscribed use of Member States
military assets in supporting disaster relief activities; about
what powers the Commission might seek to acquire in order to create
the sort of enhanced 24/7 Emergency Response Centre they seemed
to have in mind; and about "the way in which we brand aid
[the notion of more EU symbols], noting that "whilst EU visibility
can be important, our priority will always be to optimise the
delivery of practical benefits through humanitarian assistance
and civil protection."
14.17 The Minister went on to explain that all of
this will now be examined in Council working parties; and that,
as and when more concrete proposals emerge, they would be submitted
for scrutiny. She noted that, prior to the Commission plans to
bring forward legislative proposals in 2011, the Belgian Presidency
envisages that Council Conclusions on this Communication should
be adopted at the 14th December General Affairs Council, and that
said she would "press for full Working Party discussion of
the proposals in the Communication before substantive Council
Conclusions on their content are tabled."
The Minister's undated letter
14.18 In an associated, but undated
letter, the Minister said that she would press the Presidency
for Conclusions "which are purely procedural at this stage
so as to ensure that Council Working Parties have the chance fully
to deliberate the Commission's substantive proposals", which
"may enable Parliamentary Scrutiny of the Communication to
inform the Government's approach to the Commission's detailed
ideas and any resulting Council Conclusions".
Our assessment
14.19 We thanked the Minister
for her full, clear and helpful Explanatory Memorandum, and endorsed
her approach to the Communication.
14.20 We asked her to write in due time ahead of
the Council meeting to which she referred with as much information
as possible about the nature of the draft Council Conclusions
that she expected to be adopted and her views on the extent to
which they safeguarded the UK position and, if it were the case,
the areas over which she had continuing concerns.
14.21 In the meantime we retained the Communication
under scrutiny.
The Minister's further letter of 13 December
2010
14.22 The Minister says that
the Conclusions are "broadly formulated while reflecting
all the specific proposals contained in the Communication",
and "envisage that the competent official Council formations
and Working Parties will examine these proposals and identify
those which might be included in the scope of new legislative
measures when the Commission introduces revised legal instruments
next year."
14.23 She then says:
"The Government pressed for purely procedural
Conclusions. These draft Conclusions include possible suggestions
for inclusion in legal instruments. The draft Conclusions do not
however impose binding obligations on the UK and will allow Parliamentary
scrutiny to inform the Government's work on the legislative proposals
when they are made next year. Government is, therefore, minded
to accept this approach while remaining vigilant on the proposals
to come".
14.24 The General Affairs Council
(GAC) adopted Conclusions on the Communication on 14 December
(reproduced at the Annex to this chapter of our Report).[112]
Conclusion
14.25 We thank the Minister
for this further information.
14.26 Looking ahead, we ask the Minister to ensure
that any legislative proposals that emerge next year are submitted
in good time, so that the scrutiny process is, as she commendably
wishes, able properly to inform the Government's position.
14.27 We now clear the Communication.
Annex: Council conclusions on
the Communication "Towards a stronger European disaster response:
the role of civil protection and humanitarian assistance"
"1. Considering that the Union's territory and
citizens are increasingly exposed to the impact of disasters,
as are many countries and regions around the world especially
in developing countries, with a corresponding increase in the
loss of life, economic, social and environmental damages, and
that an approach that links disaster response with disaster prevention,
disaster risk reduction and preparedness, is the best way to manage
these risks;
"2. Pointing out that measures taken at the
EU level to improve disaster response should not in any way undermine
Member States' own responsibility to take action and build up
the necessary capacity in areas of prevention, preparedness and
response, and that Member States will retain full control of their
national assets (see inter alia Article 196 TFUE);
"3. Considering that EU disaster response is
primarily delivered through humanitarian assistance and through
civil protection assets; that this response may also make use
of CSDP and/or military assets in particular for the delivery
of relief assistance when the need arises, in line with established
international guidelines, in particular the principles laid down
in the Oslo guidelines;[113]
and that improved cooperation with other relevant international
bodies should minimise duplication of effort;
"4. Considering that appropriate coordination
must be ensured at the EU level taking into account the roles
of the Commission, the High Representative for Foreign Affairs
and Security Policy and the European External Action Service,
under the institutional architecture and responsibilities defined
by the Lisbon Treaty;
"5. Underlining that European relief assistance
outside the Union is needs-driven and bound by internationally
agreed humanitarian principles (humanity, neutrality, impartiality
and independence) and guidelines, as enshrined in the European
Consensus on Humanitarian Aid;[114]
"6. Reaffirming in particular the central coordinating
role of the UN as set out in the European Consensus on humanitarian
aid, the Council decision establishing a Community Civil Protection
Mechanism and in accordance with the Council conclusions of 28
November 2008 on strengthening relations between the European
Union and the United Nations as regards disaster response capacity.[115]
"The Council of the European Union
"7. Welcomes the Communication from the Commission
to the European Parliament and the Council — "Towards
a stronger European disaster response: the role of civil protection
and humanitarian assistance"[116]
and its general objectives aiming at a more
predictable, effective, efficient, coherent and visible European
response to disasters;
"8. Agrees that an enhanced, cost-effective
European response must follow an all-hazard approach, should bring
together all relevant players, in particular civil protection
and humanitarian assistance actors, and should ensure consistency
and synergies between the different instruments ;
"9. Underlines that an effective crisis emergency
centre requires a 24/7 operational capacity and should provide
a coordination platform supporting other European services dealing
with major disasters; Welcomes the Commission's decision to merge
the ECHO crisis room and the MIC to create an Emergency Response
Centre that must be able, in full compliance with paragraph 2,
to improve planning and coordination;
10. Recognises that lessons learnt from recent disasters
suggest that, even though the EU response has been effective and
swift, there is room for improvement; notes that the Commission
communication puts forward many interesting suggestions to this
effect; and Considers that, subject to the discussions that the
competent Council formations and Working Parties will have on
the revised legal instruments that the Commission is expected
to propose in 2011, an enhanced European disaster response might
include:
· "improved
planning of interventions where appropriate, through the use and
improvement of reference scenarios constructed on the basis of
comprehensive and high quality risk assessments;
· "more
predictable availability of Member States key assets, inter alia
by setting up a pool of pre-identified assets, available within
pre-agreed response times, to be deployed through a voluntary
commitment from Member States to make these assets available on
a voluntary basis for European disaster relief interventions both
inside and outside the Union (with Member States retaining full
authority over their assets, their deployment and at all times
retaining full right of use over these assets);
· "an
approach which takes also into account regional needs, shared
extreme risks and, bearing in mind the previous point, the common
use of certain assets, based on the principles outlined in paragraph
2;
· "improved,
more cost effective and well-coordinated transport of in-kind
assistance to disaster sites;
· "improved
joint, cross-sectoral and comparable needs assessment in order
to ensure well-informed decision-making;
· "better
and strengthened contributions to the efforts of central international
players, in particular with the UN, by optimising synergies and
information-sharing, inter alia through the deployment and secondment
of EU staff to the local UN coordination system;
· "a
comprehensive communications strategy, involving all EU institutions
and Member States, that will improve the overall visibility of
the European actions;
· "improved
EU assessment for interventions in third countries, with a view
to supporting the central coordinating role of the UN;
"11. Notes that the legislative proposals brought
forward by the Commission will be dealt with by the competent
Council formations and working parties;
"12. Considers the Commission proposals as a
building block of a broader and more coherent effort towards a
strengthened European disaster response and therefore looks also
forward to examining the forthcoming proposals of the High Representative
for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and the Commission regarding
the further developments, notably on the use of CSDP and/or military
capabilities as part of the European disaster response and the
proposal to implement Article 222 (solidarity clause), having
regard to the Decision of the Heads of State and Government annexed
to the European Council conclusions of June 2009, and Article
20 (2 c) of the Treaty (consular protection) and on coordination,
coherence and consistency in the context of EU crisis response
and management."
111 See headnote: HC 428-ix (2010-11), chapter 9 (24
November 2010). Back
112
And available at http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_Data/docs/pressdata/EN/genaff/118460.pdf. Back
113
Guidelines on the Use of Foreign Military and Civil Defence Assets
in Disaster Relief - "Oslo Guidelines" (Revision 1.1
November 2007), at
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/lib.nsf/db900sid/AMMF-6VXJVG/$file/OCHA-Nov2006.pdf?openelement. Back
114
OJ C 25, 30.1.2008, p. 1. Back
115
16753/08. Back
116
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