WRITTEN QUESTION E-2349/00 by Véronique Mathieu (EDD) to the Commission. Civil protection and natural or technological disasters.
Date: 2000-07-13
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU programme, civil defence

C 103 E/128

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

3.4.2001

Reply

(7 November 2000)

The facts raised by the Honourable Member have not been discussed by the Council.

(2001/C 103 E/142)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2349/00

by VØronique Mathieu (EDD) to the Commission

Subject: Civil protection and natural or technological disasters

(13 July 2000)

The EU must react in proper fashion to natural or technological disasters. Several months after the storms
of December 1999 and the wreck of the (cid:145)Erika(cid:146), the Commission has undertaken to submit, by the end
of July 2000, a communication and a proposal to the Council for the completion of the Community
action programme for civil protection established by the Council decision of 9 December 1999.

Can the Commission explain the fact that at the time of the disasters of December 1999 coordina-
1.
tion at Community level was not carried out under this programme, despite its having entered into force
on 1 January 2000?

How does the Commission propose to improve communication, not only between the Member
2.
States(cid:146) civil protection authorities but also between the Commission and the Member States and between
the different Commission DGs?

Has the Commission acted to identify the operational resources existing in the Member States for

3.
civil protection?

4.
In what fashion has the Commission decided to link up its new civil protection proposals to the
Council resolution of 8 July 1991 on mutual assistance between Member States in case of natural and
technological disaster (1), in particular as regards the environmental effects of disasters?

5.
How does the Commission intend to ensure the coordination and coherence of action of a future
European intervention force, whose creation would compound the proliferation of crisis centres, units and
management committees now existing under Union authority?

Can the Commission state how it intends to obtain guarantees from the Member States concerning

6.
their political commitment to cooperating with its forthcoming proposals?

(1) OJ C 198, 27.7.1991, p. 1.

Answer given by Mrs Wallstr(cid:246)m on behalf of the Commission

(7 September 2000)

1.
The Community action programme the Honourable Member is referring to is aimed only periph-
erally at disaster intervention. Its main purpose is to develop and finance measures relating to prevention,
preparedness and public information. Had the storms of December 1999 necessitated Community
coordination, this would have happened within the framework of the resolution of 8 July 1991 on mutual
assistance, to which the Honourable Member also refers.

2.
Regarding communication between the Member States and between these and the Commission, the
latter has already launched a project through the IDA (interchange of data between administrations)
framework to set up a reliable and effective communication network. As for communication between the
Commission(cid:146)s own departments, an inter-departmental group has been set up inter alia to prepare
thoroughly the proposals the Honourable Member refers to in the fourth point of her question.

3.4.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 103 E/129

Implementation of the resolution of 8 July 1991 already included broad identification of mutual
3.
assistance capacity in the Member States. More detailed identification of teams available to lend such
assistance, and a training programme to teach those teams how to work together and complement one
another, will be one of the two keystones of the forthcoming proposal.

4.
The forthcoming proposal will reinforce the provisions of the resolution of 8 July 1991, in respect of
which it will represent a qualitative leap forward. The question of the environmental effects of disasters is
an integral part of all the Commission(cid:146)s civil protection work. However, civil protection does not extend to
rectifying environmental effects once the emergency situation management period has come to an end.

5.
The forthcoming proposal should create an effective tool which the Member States and the
Commission will be able to use for interventions within the Community. The tool will also be available
to the Commission for interventions outside the Community.

The political commitment of the Member States to use the proposed system is the main precondition

6.
for its working properly. Such commitment will need to be formally confirmed at ministerial level.

(2001/C 103 E/143)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2352/00

by Mauro Nobilia (UEN) to the Commission

(13 July 2000)

Subject: EDF funding for the island of St Maarten

The European Development Fund VIII has budgeted substantial funding for the Dutch Antilles, there are
still sums left over from EDF VI and VII and soon new resources will be committed under EDF IX.

The island of St Maarten has in the recent past been hit by devastating hurricanes and therefore urgently
needs to rebuild urban infrastructure. After the last hurricane in November 1999 the Commission did not
plan to send any humanitarian aid because the island can benefit from funding under the EDF budget. It
would appear that the local authorities in St Maarten regularly submit projects eligible for EDF funding to
the National Authorising Officer of the Dutch Antilles.

In view of the above, can the Commission:

(cid:129) confirm whether the above statements are true;

(cid:129) specify the precise amount of EDF funding allocated to the Dutch Antilles and how much has not yet

been used;

(cid:129) say why the whole amount of the EDF funding allocated for the Dutch Antilles has not been

committed;

(cid:129) ascertain whether the EDF mechanism is failing to function properly in St Maarten and whether this is

due to factors outside the Commission(cid:146)s control;

(cid:129) if so, take steps to remove the obstacles which are delaying or preventing the use of the funding

allocated?

Answer given by Mr Nielson on behalf of the Commission

(26 September 2000)

Following the hurricane in November 1999, an expert went to St Maarten and concluded that it did
not need urgent assistance in the form of humanitarian aid as normally provided by the Commission.