Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-09-06-Speech-2-221"

Predicate	Value (sorted: default)
rdf:type	lpv_eu:Speech2
dcterms:Date	"2005-09-06"^^xsd:date2
dcterms:Is Part Of	lp_eu:Tsunami2
dcterms:Language	"en"^^xsd:language2
lpv:document identification number	"en.20050906.32.2-221"2
lpv:hasSubsequent	lp_eu:2005-09-06-Speech-2-2222
lpv:speaker	lp:Nirj Deva2
lpv:spoken text	". Madam President, the tsunami affected large numbers of people in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and the Maldives. The response of the European population, European governments, the European Commission and the Member States was overwhelming. In Sri Lanka alone, institutional and public commitments came to about EUR 5.8 billion. In Indonesia some EUR 8 billion has been committed. However, promises and delivery, pledges and action are very different. I have just returned from Sri Lanka and Indonesia. In Indonesia I talked to Mr Kuntoro Mangkusubroto, head of the Indonesian reconstruction agency. He told me they cannot spend the money as quickly as we think they can. He thought he could spend it in four years, while the President of Indonesia wants to spend it over a period of five years. In Sri Lanka, I regret to tell you that very little has happened. Nothing much has changed. The government is blaming the international NGOs and the NGOs are blaming the government. I am the budget draftsman of the Committee on Development. We adopted that opinion yesterday in my committee. I tried to explain that, although the needs of the Commission are paramount, I recognise that it has to make commitments, put money in the trust fund and then start spending those funds on whatever projects we have undertaken. The capacity of Sri Lanka and Indonesia to absorb this huge amount of money transparently and properly is minimal. The Sri Lankans are still shifting paper around while people are still living in tents. Nothing has changed in the last seven months, since 26 December 2004. It is a tragedy and a scandal. However, we need to understand that, no matter how generous we are in giving and in wanting to help the people most in need, absorptive capacity and the ability to act fast in times of crisis are limited. As we have seen in New Orleans, even the most powerful nation in the world is unable to cope with tragedies of this kind. It has taught us that our Humanitarian Office, ECHO, has more expertise and is better prepared to deal with these emergencies than any other institution in the world. The one positive contribution we can make is to teach people what we have already learned on many occasions. One of the things we can do with the tsunami and in New Orleans is to give advice and guidance."@en1
lpv:spokenAs	substitute; Delegation for relations with the countries of Southeast Asia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) (2004-09-15--2007-03-13)3 member; Delegation for relations with the countries of South Asia and the South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) (2004-09-16--2007-03-13)3 member; Delegation to the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly (2004-09-15--2009-07-13)3 substitute; AFET (2004-07-21--2007-01-14)3 member; DEVE (2004-07-21--2007-01-14)3 unknown; Conservative and Unionist Party (2004-07-20--2009-07-13)3 member_of_the_bureau; EPP-ED (2004-08-31--2009-07-13)3
lpv:unclassifiedMetadata	"Nirj Deva (PPE-DE ),"1 "draftsman of the opinion of the Committee on Development"1

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