Commission ready to release EUR 3m in aid

Date: 13/02/03

By David Cronin

THE European Commission is ready to invoke emergency procedures allowing it provide up to €3 million of aid in the event of war in Iraq.

Poul Nielson, the commissioner for humanitarian aid, says his aides "are looking at the possibility of pre-positioning stocks" to deal with a humanitarian disaster. He declined to give precise details about the preparations, lest it give the impression "that it's a foregone conclusion there will be a conflict".

But Commission insiders say the institution has notified the Red Cross that it would be willing to invoke the so-called 'primary urgency procedure', unveiled in June 2001, as soon as a humanitarian crisis is declared. Under it, up to €3 million of aid could be distributed within one to three days; it is envisaged that the Red Cross would be the lead agency in helping to get EU-funded aid to those who need it.

One source said the Commission is discussing stockpiling medicines, food and blankets inside Iraq - as well as near its borders with neighbouring states.

The Commission took the same approach in Afghanistan, when it stationed supplies on the Pakistani border, so that aid workers could dispatch them to those displaced by the 2001 air strikes. "This procedure has been tried and tested," an official added.

The sum of up to €3 million is likely to be the first tranche of EU funding devoted to the humanitarian consequences of a US-led war against Saddam Hussein's regime. Discussions are also being undertaken about using the EU's 'emergency reserve' for major catastrophes, which comes to more than €200 million per year. Yet devising watertight plans has been hampered by uncertainty about whether war will erupt and its potential duration.

The Red Cross, which has worked in Iraq since 1980, has set aside about €11 million for dealing with a fresh humanitarian crisis in the country. It estimates it would be capable of assisting 150,000 internally displaced people within the first month of a war and this could be extended to 500,000 over a longer period.

Renaud Galand, a spokesman for the charity's Brussels office, said: "We are seeing how we could reinforce supplies in Jordan, because if there are a lot of refugees, most of them are likely to go there." Alongside providing emergency aid to refugees, he explained the main focus of Red Cross planning is on water, sanitation, healthcare and assisting prisoners of war and their families. The Commission's humanitarian office ECHO has spent about €170 million on Iraq - where 70 of the population already relies on outside help - since 1992.

The European Commission is ready to invoke emergency procedures allowing it provide up to €3 million of aid in the event of war in Iraq.