WRITTEN QUESTION E-0843/02 by Isidoro Sánchez García (ELDR) to the Commission. Natural disasters in Latin America.
Date: 2002-03-26
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: ECHO, EU aid, EU programme, Latin America, cooperation policy, emergency aid, humanitarian aid, natural disaster

17.4.2003

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Official Journal of the European Union

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The Commission is re-considering its position on this matter and recognises the force of the argument that
the standards for raw milk must apply to the milk before collection from the farm without being altered
artificially.

(1) OJ C 365 E, 19.12.2000.
(2) OJ L 268, 14.9.1992.

(2003/C 92 E/028)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0815/02

by Camilo Nogueira Román (Verts/ALE) to the Council

(25 March 2002)

Subject: European Maritime Safety Agency

What stage has been reached in deciding on the location of the European Maritime Safety Agency?
Is Galicia a candidate? What location does the Spanish presidency of the EU favour?

Reply

(16-19 December 2002)

The Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the establishment of a European
Maritime Safety Agency, proposed by the Commission at the end of 2000 as part of the second ‘Erika’
package, was adopted in June 2002 (1) and was published in the Official Journal on 5 August 2002.
It entered into force 20 days later.

The Regulation contains no provision regarding the location of the Agency. A decision on this has yet to
be taken. It is up to the Spanish Government, if it so wishes, to make an official bid, along with any other
Member States which may be interested.

In any event, Article 23 of the Regulation lays down that the Agency shall be ‘operational within twelve
months of the entry into force of this Regulation’, i.e. by no later than 28 August 2003. It will, therefore,
be for the Community institutions, and more especially the Commission, to take the steps needed to
ensure that the Agency is operational within the timeframe set by the Regulation, even in the absence of a
decision on the Agency’s definitive location.

(1) PE-CONS 3637/02.

(2003/C 92 E/029)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0843/02

by Isidoro Sánchez García (ELDR) to the Commission

(26 March 2002)

Subject: Natural disasters in Latin America

As a member of the Delegation for relations with the countries of Central America and Mexico, the author
of this question wishes to obtain information on the EU’s interventions in the countries of Latin America
in the area of the cooperative handling of natural disasters.

Can the Commission state what interventions have occurred in the countries of Central America and South
America and in Mexico over the last five years, and provide a breakdown by country, type of intervention,
cost and financial allocation, indicating the relevant budgetary details and heading? Can it also indicate the
nature of any likely future action in this field in the short term?

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17.4.2003

Answer given by Mr Nielson on behalf of the Commission

(3 June 2002)

In response to natural disasters in the last five years in Central and South America and Mexico the
following interventions have taken place in.

Humanitarian aid interventions (cid:1) Budget Line B7-210

The Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO) has made decisions to fund projects in response to the natural
disasters in Central and South America, which are listed in a table sent direct to the Honourable Member
and to Parliament’s Secretariat (table 1). ECHO funds projects that are carried out by European non-
the Red Cross family.
governmental organisations, United Nations organisations and members of
Interventions have been in the fields of the provision of food and nutritional complements, water and
sanitation, medicines and emergency health provision, epidemiological surveillance, provision of esential
relief items, temporary shelter and strengthening of agricultural production.

In the future, ECHO is ready to respond to natural disasters that will occur in the region. At present there
are plans to take further decisions in the first half of 2002 for projects which follow up on the El Salvador
earthquake last year and which continue to alleviate the problems caused by the drought in Central
America.

Dipecho interventions (cid:1) Budget Line B7-219

ECHO is also active in the area of disaster preparedness, through its Dipecho programme. This programme
addresses disaster mitigation and preparedness issues at regional level.

The Andean Community and Central America are two of the five priority regions for the Dipecho.

The objectives of Dipecho are to: boost local capabilities; set up early-warning systems; create small-scale
mitigation projects; disseminate information and experience at local, national and regional levels.

Dipecho funding in these regions in the past five years is sent direct to the Honourable Member and to
Parliament’s Secretariat (table 2).

At present it is envisaged that Dipecho projects will continue to be funded in the Andean Community and
Central American countries in 2002 and beyond.

Food security (cid:1) Budget Line B7-20

Two particular interventions under the Food Security budget line have taken place in Central and South
America in the past five years:

(cid:1) in 1998 interventions of EUR 20 389 036 were made to stimulate the recovery of productive capacity

in countries affected by Hurricane Mitch and by drought and floods arising from El Niño;

(cid:1) in 2001 EUR 727 882 was allocated for the distribution of seeds in response to the drought in Central

America.

The detail of these interventions is sent direct to the Honourable Member and to Parliament’s Secretariat
(table 3).

The potential for future interventions in response to natural disasters under this budget line will be
assessed on a case by case basis.

Rehabilitation (cid:1) Budget Line B7-313

This budget line was used in 1997 in response to Hurricane Cesar, to finance teams for the reconstruction
and maintenance of embankments and riverbanks which had been damaged by the hurricane.

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It has also been used for the Programme for the Reconstruction of Central America (PRRAC), which has
been implemented since 1999 in the four countries most affected by Hurricane Mitch. The areas for
intervention under PRRAC are water and sanitation, health, housing and education.

The detail of the interventions is sent direct to the Honourable Member and to Parliament’s Secretariat
(table 4).

Future interventions of this type will come under the Budget Line B7-310 (see below).

Financial and Technical Co-operation (cid:1) Budget Line B7-310

The programmed actions financed from budget line B7-310 have been designed taking into account the
Commission communication on the link between emergency aid, rehabilitation and development (1). The
programme constitutes a coherent package that ensures continuity with past and on-going actions, and
complement the actions financed from other budget lines. It constitutes an important contribution to the
fight against poverty (given that it is the poor populations that suffer the most from the consequences of
natural disasters) as well as to regional integration.

The Commission has just approved the programming 2002-2006 for horizontal programmes for the
whole Latin America in which EUR 40 million are foreseen for actions in the field of natural disasters. On
the one hand, those actions will aim at improving mechanisms for coping better with the consequences of
natural disaster. On the other hand, the credits foreseen will be used to implement the priorities expressed
by the European, Latin American and Caribbean Heads of States and Governments in Rio in 1999, relating
to supporting actions of common interest for Latin America and the Union in the field of natural disasters
(actions such as enhancement of the co-operation between civil protection of the countries of both
regions, the development of the relations between local communities of both regions on issues such as risk
reduction).

in the context of the 2002-2006 programming at regional

Also,
level the Commission will shortly
consider the approval of regional strategies for Central America and the Andean Community. Those
strategies foresee actions related to natural disasters for an amount of respectively EUR 20 and 10 million.
The regional strategies will aim at supporting regional initiatives and reinforcing regional co-ordination.
They will focus on improving prevention networks together with stimulating the development of a
common legal framework for regional prevention mechanisms in Central America, on reinforcing the civil
protection and their regional co-ordination, and on improving the efficiency of risk management systems
in the Andean Community.

Taking into account the consequences of recent natural disasters, the Commission 2002-2006 program-
ming for some individual countries (Honduras, El Salvador and Venezuela) also includes actions at national
level that will contribute to reduce the vulnerability of their population to natural disasters. Those actions
mainly aim at contributing to a more rational use of the territory and a better and more sustainable
management of natural resources.

In total, and according to the 2002-2006 programming for budget line B7-310, over the five next years,
about EUR 155 million should be directly or indirectly devoted to natural disasters in Latin America. This
important amount is justified in view of the extent of the problem in Latin America.

(1) COM(2001) 153 final.

(2003/C 92 E/030)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0850/02

by Rosa Miguélez Ramos (PSE) to the Commission

(27 March 2002)

Subject: Mobbing at work

What steps will the Commission take with a view to introducing a legal definition of mobbing so that
effective prevention policies can be shaped, for example by including it in the Framework Directive on
health and safety at work, and with a view to drawing up a Green Paper containing a detailed analysis,
action plan and specific timetable?