EU Commission proposes boosting disaster unit role
The European Commission today proposed measures to boost its role to co-ordinate European Union relief operations in wake of natural or man-made disasters in Europe or abroad.
New plans include beefing up an early warning network for the 25-national governments ensuring they can respond quicker when requests for aid are made to the EU, as well as giving the EU head office the right to hire airlift to take aid to disaster zones if national governments are unable to.
“The EU’s civil protection mechanism has proven its usefulness in the face of such disasters as Hurricane Katrina in the US and the floods and droughts in Europe, but there is always room for improvement,” said EU Environment Commissioner Stravros Dimas.
The new proposals give the Commission more discretion to allocate equipment and aid workers.
The plans also include setting up an Internet portal site from its Monitoring and Information Centre, with a daily bulletin, the Commission said.
