Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-05-10-Speech-2-656-000"
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"en.20110510.66.2-656-000"2
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"In reply to the first question, access in areas of Libya where military operations are taking place is limited but we still – thanks to the courage of humanitarian workers – have been able to reach two affected populations in Misrata as well as in the contested cities in the coastal area. Where we have not been able to reach affected populations is in the western part of Libya under the control of Gaddafi.
We are also very concerned that we are now seeing an increase of Libyans fleeing the country. Out of the 740 000 people I mentioned today, some 50 000 are Libyans and it is their number that is growing, facing us with an additional challenge to help these people. Most of them are moving to live with host communities in Tunisia and in Egypt. We now have to find a way to support these communities.
As far as the ceasefire is concerned, we have been calling for a ceasefire to allow safe access for humanitarian assistance and, of course, we very much support the UN in this regard. I can assure you that we are in constant contact with the UN and the UNHCR so that we can deploy assistance when a window of opportunity opens up, as we have now done on numerous occasions, for example in the case of Misrata.
There was actually a separate question on the coordinated response. May I continue with an answer to this question? We have made significant progress in advancing work on the communication on strengthening the EU disaster response that was unanimously supported by the Council at the end of last year. Our intention is to actually accelerate work on implementing this communication with an eye to setting up a 24/7 European emergency response centre by the end of this calendar year. It will be built on the basis of the current MIC – the monitoring and information centre – and also on the basis of the emergency teams of humanitarian assistance that existed in ECHO. It will have the physical capability to operate on a 24/7 basis.
Over the last year, especially in the context of the response to the Haiti disaster, the Pakistan floods and today in response to Libya, we have built very strong and effective working relations with the EU military staff in the European External Action Service to the point that now EU military staff designate liaison officers as part of our humanitarian operation, so we can make sure that we plan and execute together as one.
To give a straightforward answer to your question: yes, we are making progress. Unfortunately, due to the events of the last year, we have faced exceptionally difficult circumstances in 2010 – and also this year – that have given a very strong impetus to advance this work."@en1
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