EU helpt Libanon en Cyprus bij bescherming bevolking (en)

The European Union is responding to Lebanon's urgent request for help through the activation of the EU civil protection mechanism. Simultaneously, the mechanism is ready to assist Cyprus in coping with the influx of thousands of evacuees.

Commissioner for Environment, Stavros Dimas i, said: "We are faced with yet another human tragedy. Europe is extending its hand of solidarity to assist the affected people. The Commission and the Member States are joining forces to relief the suffering in Lebanon and to help citizens return safely and quickly to their home countries."

The Lebanese government has requested international assistance and appealed for medicines, supplies, materials for shelter and construction and fire fighting equipment. The Monitoring and Information Centre (MIC) has informed all Member States of the most urgent needs and stands ready to support and facilitate the Member States' response to this request. The MIC is carefully monitoring the situation and will operate in close cooperation with the UN, the International Committee for the Red Cross and the Commission's Directorate-General for Humanitarian Aid i (ECHO) to ensure an integrated and well-coordinated response.

Several thousands of individuals have been evacuated from Lebanon and brought to Cyprus. As a result, Cyprus is facing an increasingly difficult situation. All these evacuees are expected to need urgent transport from Cyprus to their different home countries over the coming days. Discussions are currently under way with the Cypriot authorities as to how the coordination of this operation can be improved through an increase of the transport capacity made available. By pooling the resources of different Member States, the MIC will aim to complement Cyprus's local response capabilities and help both EU citizens and third country nationals return safely to their homes. An expert team is being composed and is due to arrive in Cyprus over the weekend.

The Community Mechanism for Civil Protection

The Community Mechanism[1[1]] aims to facilitate reinforced cooperation in civil protection assistance interventions. It ensures the coordination of assistance intervention in order to provide prompt support and to assist a country (inside and outside the European Union) in need of help. The main objective is to provide the best possible response and preparedness when a major emergency situation arises.

Such activities are coordinated by the Commission through the activation of its Monitoring and Information Centre (MIC), located in DG Environment, Civil Protection Unit.

30 states[2] [2] participate in the Community Mechanism. These pool those resources that can be made available to disaster-stricken countries all over the world through this mechanism.

Since its creation, the Mechanism has been activated for a number of disasters worldwide, including the 2003 earthquake in Iran; the 2004 tsunami affected South East Asia; the 2005 forest fires in Portugal, flooding in Bulgaria and Romania, Hurricane Katrina in the US, the earthquake in Pakistan and more recently in Indonesia. The Commission has reviewed the efficiency of the Mechanism and through its proposals is seeking to improve upon it.

For more information:

Civil Protection Unit: http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/civil/index.htm

[1[1]] Council Decision of 23 October (2001/792/EC, Euratom) (OJ L297, 15.11.2001, p.7)

[2] [2] EU 25, Bulgaria, Romania, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway