Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-12-10-Speech-1-178"
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"en.20071210.22.1-178"2
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"Mr President, I would like to thank Parliament for the opportunity to discuss this very important issue and to comment briefly on the motion for a resolution on a mine-free world, which we received today.
Ten years after the approval of the Ottawa Convention we can celebrate considerable progress in the achievement of its objectives. One hundred and fifty-six states have ratified the Convention, and the use of anti-personnel landmines has been markedly reduced in recent years. Fewer mines are being produced and there is virtually no trade in this hazardous weapon.
Since the adoption of the Ottawa Convention in 1997, the European Community has been highly committed to its universalisation and to the achievement of its objectives. Mine action has been part of the European Community’s assistance and development programmes in third countries, which have covered a wide range of activities – stockpile destruction, mine risk education, mine victim assistance, rehabilitation and socioeconomic reintegration. A dedicated budget line, complemented by funding from other geographic instruments, underpinned the EC Mine Action Strategy and Programming. In total, approximately EUR 275 million was committed over the 2002-2007 period, making the EC one of the leading donors worldwide. As Parliament has noted in its resolution, the EC Mine Action Strategy comes to an end this year. An evaluation will be carried out to assess whether it responded adequately to the Nairobi Action Plan. A preliminary internal analysis shows positive outcomes.
With the changes in the Commission external funding mechanisms in 2007, the anti-personnel landmine budget line has been replaced by new instruments for EC external assistance which can be used for funding appropriate mine actions. Geographical budgets for development, pre-accession and the Neighbourhood Policy are now the key financial instruments. In urgent cases, action in the area of anti-personnel landmines and explosive remnants of war can also be funded by the humanitarian aid budget and the new Instrument for Stability, which allow for funds to be mobilised rapidly in cases of crisis or emerging crisis.
This is the new legislative environment, agreed by the budgetary authority, in which we must operate. The EC’s overall approach, however, remains unchanged: landmines and other explosive remnants of war must be considered within a broad context of humanitarian assistance, long-term and sustainable socioeconomic development programmes. Countries wanting assistance need to prioritise mine action in their requests to the European Commission. We fully share Parliament’s concern, also expressed in its comments on the Instrument for Stability strategy, that a security gap in this important humanitarian field has to be avoided.
Although means and methods have changed, the EC’s commitment to the Ottawa Convention continues. In 2007, the European Community committed assistance for mine action for a total of at least EUR 33 million in the following countries: Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Cambodia, Cyprus, Ethiopia, Guinea-Bissau, Jordan, Lebanon, Senegal and Sudan.
I want to assure Parliament that the Commission remains firmly engaged in continuing its support for the implementation of the Ottawa Convention and its assistance to third countries in destroying stockpiled anti-personnel mines, clearing mined areas and assisting victims."@en1
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