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> Red Cross positions on humanitarian aid
Humanitarian Aid
The Red Cross EU Office facilitates a close dialogue between EU Red Cross National Societies, the International Federation (IFRC) and the EU institutions and particularly the European Commission DG for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response
Current issues:
Implementation of the European Consensus on Humanitarian Aid
After having been successfully involved in the process that led to the adoption of the European Consensus and its Action Plan, in 2009 the RC/EU Office monitored the implementation of the Action Plan and, particularly, how the political commitments are translated into concrete actions by the EU Institutions and the European Member States.
The Creation of the European External Action Service
The EEAS will merge relevant structures of the Commission and the General Secretariat
of the Council, and will comprise diplomats from EU Member States. The ultimate aim is to build a solid structure which will enable the EU to further develop its role as global and more strategic actor.
The RC/EU Office advocates the importance of further developing the dialogue between EUNS and the relevant respective national authorities in the context of the creation of the EU External Action Service. It is crucial that, in the future EU institutional set-up, that humanitarian action remains independent from political considerations. The Consensus clearly states that “EU humanitarian aid is not a crisis management tool”. The RC/EU Office promoted this aspect with the relevant EU institutions and underlined the added value of an independent humanitarian action in line with the Fundamental Principles.
European Voluntary Humanitarian Aid Corps
On 23 March 2010 at the Annual Strategic Dialogue Meeting with DG ECHO, the IFRC/EU National Societies had the opportunity to present their first reactions on the creation of EVHAC, based on Article 214(5) TFEU. DG ECHO said that EVHAC will focus on areas of added value or areas where additional efforts are needed as it seems not realistic to create a new structure. In addition, EVHAC should focus on natural disasters but should also have a wider scope including, for example, disaster preparedness and prevention activities. Its aim is to offer an overview of the volunteering schemes in the humanitarian sector and to provide an analysis of the current gaps. Formal contributions from DG ECHO’s partners will be gathered during the preparation of the communication. On the basis of results of the communication, in 2011 the Commission will prepare a legislative proposal on the establishment of EVHAC. Common messages (RC/EU Office, ICRC, UN OCHA and Voice) have been indentified such as ECHAC should not be used as a crisis management instrument, EVHAC should focus on natural disasters and reinforce local capacity. Framework Partnership Agreement (FPA) with DG ECHO The RC/EU Office follows issues related to the implementation of the FPA. The RC/EU Office requested EUNS/IFRC to provide their experiences and lessons learned relevant to the current FPA agreement with ECHO. The RC/EU Office also participates as an observer at the FPA Watch Group meetings. The FPA Watch Group is a consultation forum between DG ECHO and NGOs on FPA-related issues and takes place twice a year. DG ECHO funding EU advisors of the Disaster management unit keep regular contact with the DG ECHO geographical units for updates on ECHO funding opportunities and strategy developments. Upon request by National Societies, the EU advisors have arranged meetings with DG ECHO desks as appropriate. The EU advisors also provide monitoring of potential humanitarian crises and information sharing with DG ECHO and European National Societies and the International Federation on a continuous basis. For any enquiries please
do not hesitate to contact
Tel: +32 (0)2 235 0914.
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