EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 88/88

(2004/C 88 E/0096)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2512/03

by Koenraad Dillen (NI) to the Commission

(29 July 2003)

Subject: Support for victims of the crisis in the Palestinian territories

On Tuesday, 8 July 2003 the Commission approved humanitarian aid of EUR 10 million for Palestinian victims of the Middle East crisis and Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. This sum brings the total support granted by the Commission to Palestinians since the beginning of the second Intifada to EUR 100 million. The money is to be spent on sanitary facilities, infrastructure, education, etc.

On the basis of what bilateral (multilateral?) consultation process is support of this kind granted? How is the support paid out in practical terms? Via which banks, Palestinian authorities, NGOs?

How does the Commission intend to scrutinise the proper disbursement of this funding?

What guarantees did the Commission obtain that this financial support will not be used for improper purposes — I am thinking of anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli propaganda or support for terrorist organisations?

Can the Commission provide details of the practical impact of the humanitarian aid granted thus far to the Palestinians?

Answer given by Mr Nielson on behalf of the Commission

(9 September 2003)

The funding decision referred to by the Honourable Member, for an amount of EUR 10 million, was adopted by the Commission on 1 July 2003 in the framework of budget line B7-210, humanitarian aid, managed by the European Commission Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO).

The decision makes funds available in favour of the victims of the ongoing crisis in the Palestinian Territories, and Palestinian populations in Lebanon, targeting the following sectors: provision of food and non-food items; health and psychosocial support; improvement of water and sanitation facilities; support to household income, and protection activities.

Funding decisions adopted by the Commission under budget line Β7-210 are for humanitarian aid operations that are implemented by Union non governmental organisations (NGOs), United Nations Agencies and the Red Cross family.

In order to qualify as ECHO'S implementing partners, Union NGOs must be signatory to a Framework Partnership Agreement, which can only be concluded after a screening procedure that offers ample guarantees in terms of humanitarian vocation, technical competence, administrative capacity, as well as financial accountability and solvability. The humanitarian organisations' overall compliance with the eligibility criteria for Community funding laid down in Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/96 of 20 June 1996 on humanitarian aid (1) (Article 7) is checked before a partnership agreement is concluded. In addition, ECHO'S external audit service undertakes periodic audits of partner organisations through an annual audit programme.

Funding decisions adopted by the Commission under budget line Β7-210 are taken on the basis of the process described below.

The identification of priorities is the result of a continuous assessment of needs made by ECHO, at both headquarters level, including regular missions, and through its team of experts in the region. This assessment is based upon systematic monitoring of developments related to the humanitarian situation on the ground, including the implementation of ongoing ECHO funded operations, as well as the consultation of all relevant players through existing co-ordination mechanisms involving Member States, UN Agencies, NGOs and the Red Cross family. Humanitarian aid operations funded by ECHO are complementary to more structural and longer-term interventions funded by other Community instruments.

In order to better assess the humanitarian needs of the Palestinian affected by the current crisis in the Middle East, ECHO avails itself of expatriate and local staff at two offices established in Jerusalem and Amman.

By their nature, ECHO funded operations respond to purely humanitarian needs, have no link to political considerations, and their deliverables are easily identifiable.

No ECHO funds channelled through banks or similar mechanisms are provided to national authorities and/or internationally recognised administrative entities.

Against the background described above, with regard to the specific situation in the occupied Palestinian territories, the risk that funds made available under budget line Β7-210 are used for purposes other than those of providing humanitarian relief is, to say the least, extremely limited. In practice, not a single questionable case has emerged so far.

Since the beginning of the second Intifada in September 2000, hundreds of thousands among the most vulnerable Palestinians have benefited from dozens of ECHO funded operations. These operations have strengthened food security for particularly vulnerable groups such as children and lactating women, as well as the provision of safe drinking water. They have improved hygiene conditions, especially in refugee camps, including through the rehabilitation of extremely precarious shelters. They have provided protection and psychological support, as well as access to basic primary and emergency healthcare. Self-reliance activities and employment opportunities have been facilitated. Whenever possible, priority has been given to locally produced, transformed or packed products, such as olive oil, thereby stimulating the local economy.

These operations have been subject to an external evaluation carried out in 2001: the results of this evaluation were globally positive; its recommendations as regards improving effectiveness and sustainability of ECHO funded projects in the area have been taken on board in providing further humanitarian support in 2002 and 2003. The evaluation report can be made available to the Honourable Member upon request.

A new external evaluation is scheduled for the first half of 2004.

(1) OJ L 163, 2.7.1996.