EU must be more than the World's banker

5.35.24pm UTC (GMT +0000) Wed 12th Jan 2005

Addressing the European parliament in a debate today, Graham Watson, on behalf of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats praised the rapid humanitarian response of the Commission and the €450m pledged by the Commission to the aid effort following the Asian tsunami but called for honesty and transparency about fresh versus already committed funding. He also pointed to the need for the European Union to exert its 'soft power' on the world stage more effectively by having a rapid humanitarian response capability comprising hospital ships, helicopters, trained forces and equipment ready on standby rather than just distributing aid.

Watson described the situation as "a global tragedy requiring a global response in which the EU must play its part." He called for Member States of the Union to back up the Commission's coordinating role by each putting a humanitarian relief expert at the disposal of the Union to assist in maximising the potential of the Union to respond effectively to this and future crises.

Liberals and Democrats welcomed Commission President Barroso's intention to follow-up on the idea launched earlier this week calling for EU fishing vessels to be sent to replace those destroyed by the tsunami instead of being scrapped as part of EU cuts in fishing capacity. They also appealed for support to UNICEF to enable all vulnerable children in the affected coastal areas who had lost their parents to remain close to their communities under close registration and supervision to enable relatives to trace them and prevent child traffickers from exploiting them.

"This devastating humanitarian disaster and unprecedented international response in the form of pledges and donations from individuals a world away to families of victims they have never met is a reminder of how small is our global village and how we all share a common humanity and solidarity that far outweighs our quarrels and conflicts," pointed out Watson, "This disaster has shown how frail we are before the forces of nature. We cannot tame them but we can, collectively, mitigate their devastation. We have the technology to detect and install seismographs and tsunami warning devices in those regions at risk and at no great cost yet capable of saving hundreds of thousands of lives."