Legal provisions of COM(1995)201 - Humanitarian aid - Main contents
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This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
dossier | COM(1995)201 - Humanitarian aid. |
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document | COM(1995)201 ![]() |
date | June 20, 1996 |
Contents
CHAPTER I -
Article 1
Such aid shall also comprise operations to prepare for risks or prevent disasters or comparable exceptional circumstances.
Article 2
(a) to save and preserve life during emergencies and their immediate aftermath and natural disasters that have entailed major loss of life, physical, psychological or social suffering or material damage;
(b) to provide the necessary assistance and relief to people affected by longer-lasting crises arising, in particular, from outbreaks of fighting or wars, producing the same effects as those described in subparagraph (a), especially where their own governments prove unable to help or there is a vacuum of power;
(c) to help finance the transport of aid and efforts to ensure that it is accessible to those for whom it is intended, by all logistical means available, and by protecting humanitarian goods and personnel, but excluding operations with defence implications;
(d) to carry out short-term rehabilitation and reconstruction work, especially on infrastructure and equipment, in close association with local structures, with a view to facilitating the arrival of relief, preventing the impact of the crisis from worsening and starting to help those affected regain a minimum level of self-sufficiency, taking long-term development objectives into account where possible;
(e) to cope with the consequences of population movements (refugees, displaced people and returnees) caused by natural and man-made disasters and carry out schemes to assist repatriation to the country of origin and resettlement there when the conditions laid down in current international agreements are in place;
(f) to ensure preparedness for risks of natural disasters or comparable exceptional circumstances and use a suitable rapid early-warning and intervention system;
(g) to support civil operations to protect the victims of fighting or comparable emergencies, in accordance with current international agreements.
Article 3
It may also be used to finance any other expenditure directly related to the implementation of humanitarian operations.
Article 4
- preparatory and feasibility studies for humanitarian operations and the assessment of humanitarian projects and plans,
- operations to monitor humanitarian projects and plans,
- small-scale training schemes and general studies in the field of humanitarian operations, to be phased out gradually where funding is over several years,
- the cost of highlighting the Community nature of the aid,
- public awareness and information campaigns aimed at increasing understanding of humanitarian issues, especially in Europe and in third countries where the Community is funding major humanitarian operations,
- measures to strengthen the Community's coordination with the Member States, other donor countries, international humanitarian organizations and institutions, non-governmental organizations and organizations representing them,
- the technical assistance necessary for the implementation of humanitarian projects, including the exchange of technical know-how and experience by European humanitarian organizations and agencies or between such bodies and those of third countries,
- humanitarian mine-clearance operations, including campaigns to increase awareness of anti-personnel mines on the part of the local population.
Article 5
The operations covered by this Regulation shall be exempt from taxes, charges, duties and customs duties.
CHAPTER II -
Article 6
Article 7
(a) be non-profit-making autonomous organizations in a Member State of the Community under the laws in force in that Member State;
(b) have their main headquarters in a Member State of the Community or in the third countries in receipt of Community aid. This headquarters must be the effective decision-making centre for all operations financed under this Regulation. Exceptionally, the headquarters may be in a third donor country.
2. When determining a non-governmental organization's suitability for Community funding, account shall be taken of the following factors:
(a) its administrative and financial management capacities;
(b) its technical and logistical capacity in relation to the planned operation;
(c) its experience in the field of humanitarian aid;
(d) the results of previous operations carried out by the organization concerned, and in particular those financed by the Community;
(e) its readiness to take part, if need be, in the coordination system set up for a humanitarian operation;
(f) its ability and readiness to work with humanitarian agencies and the basic communities in the third countries concerned;
(g) its impartiality in the implementation of humanitarian aid;
(h) where appropriate, its previous experience in the third country involved in the humanitarian operation concerned.
Article 8
Article 9
Article 10
2. The Commission shall ensure that humanitarian operations financed by the Community are coordinated and consistent with those of international organizations and agencies, in particular those which form part of the United Nations system.
3. The Commission shall endeavour to develop collaboration and cooperation between the Community and third-country donors in the field of humanitarian aid.
Article 11
2. Aid shall not be implemented unless the recipient complies with these conditions.
Article 12
CHAPTER III -
Article 13
The following operations shall be deemed to necessitate emergency action:
- operations to meet immediate and unforeseeable humanitarian requirements generated by sudden natural or man-made disasters, such as floods, earthquakes and outbreaks of fighting or comparable situations,
- operations limited to the duration of the unforeseeable emergency response: the corresponding funds shall cover the response to the humanitarian needs referred to in the first indent for a period of not more than six months laid down in the decision on financing.
Where operations fulfil these conditions and are in excess of ECU 2 million:
- the Commission shall adopt its decision,
- it shall inform the Member States in writing within forty-eight hours,
- it shall account for its decision at the Committee's next meeting, in particular giving the reasons for its use of the emergency procedure.
Decisions to continue operations adopted by the emergency procedure shall be taken by the Commission, acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 17 (3) and within the limits set in the second indent of Article 15 (2).
Article 14
Article 15
- decide on Community financing for the humanitarian-aid protection operations referred to in Article 2 (c),
- adopt implementing Regulations for this Regulation,
- decide to take direct Commission action or finance action by Member States' specialized agencies.
2. Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 17 (3), the Commission shall:
- approve global plans intended to provide a coherent framework for action in a given country or region where the scale and complexity of the humanitarian crisis is such that it seems likely to continue, and the budgets for those plans. In this context, the Commission and the Member States shall examine the priorities to be established in the implementation of these global plans,
- decide on projects in excess of ECU 2 million, without prejudice to Article 13.
Article 16
2. The Commission shall also submit to the Committee referred to in Article 17 information on changes in the instruments for administering humanitarian aid, including the framework partnership agreement.
3. The Committee referred to in Article 17 shall also be notified of the Commission's intentions regarding the assessment of humanitarian operations, and, possibly, its timetable of work.
Article 17
2. Where the procedure laid down in this paragraph is to be followed the representative of the Commission shall submit to the Committee a draft of the measures to be taken. The Committee shall deliver its opinion on the draft within a time limit which the Chairman may lay down according to the urgency of the matter. The opinion shall be delivered by the majority laid down in Article 148 (2) of the Treaty in the case of decisions which the Council is required to adopt on a proposal from the Commission. The votes of the representatives of the Member States within the Committee shall be weighted in the manner set out in that Article. The Chairman shall not vote.
The Commission shall adopt the measures envisaged if they are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee.
If the measures envisaged are not in accordance with the opinion of the Committee, or if no opinion is delivered, the Commission shall, without delay, submit to the Council a proposal relating to the measures to be taken. The Council shall act by a qualified majority.
If, on the expiry of a period of one month from the date of referral to the Council, the Council has not acted, the proposed measures shall be adopted by the Commission.
3. Where the procedure laid down in this paragraph is to be followed, the representative of the Commission shall submit to the Committee a draft of the measures to be taken. The Committee shall deliver its opinion on the draft within a time limit which the Chairman may lay down according to the urgency of the matter. The opinion shall be delivered by the majority laid down in Article 148 (2) of the Treaty in the case of decisions which the Council is required to adopt on a proposal from the Commission. The votes of the representatives of the Member States within the Committee shall be weighted in the manner set out in that Article. The Chairman shall not vote.
The Commission shall adopt measures which apply immediately. However, if these measures are not in accordance with the opinion of the Committee, they shall be communicated by the Commission to the Council forthwith. In that event the Commission may defer application of the measures which it has decided for a period of one month from the date of such communication.
The Council, acting by a qualified majority, may take a different decision within the time limit referred to in the previous paragraph.
Article 18
2. At the Member States' request, and with their participation, the Commission may also assess the results of the Community's humanitarian operations and plans.
Article 19
The summary shall contain information concerning the agencies with which humanitarian operations have been implemented.
The report shall also include a review of any outside assessment exercises which may have been conducted on specific operations.
The Commission shall notify the Member States, within no more than one month of its decision and without prejudice to Article 13 of this Regulation, of the operations approved, indicating the amount granted, the nature of the operation, the people who have received aid and the partners involved.
Article 20
Article 21
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.