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Commission decision of on the financing of disaster preparedness actions in the Pacific from the general budget of the European Union (ECHO/DIP/BUD/2009/07000)

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THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No.1257/96 of 20 June 1996 concerning humanitarian aid, and in particular Article 2(f) and Article 15(2) thereof;

Whereas:

(1) The Pacific region is one of the most disaster-prone areas in the world, particularly exposed to natural disasters such as cyclones, earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, tidal surges, landslides, flash floods, droughts, forest fires, volcano eruptions, as well as epidemics;

(2) Local communities are particularly vulnerable to all aforementioned disasters, and the losses these cause are significant both in social and economic terms;

(3) The capacity of Pacific countries to cope with the large number of disasters occurring in the region is insufficient and aggravated even further by climate change, calling for international support to preparedness and small-scale mitigation actions;

(4) To reach populations in need, humanitarian aid should be channelled through Non- Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and International Organisations including United Nations (UN) agencies. Therefore the European Commission should implement the budget by direct centralized management or by joint management;

(5) Past experiences from other regions and stakeholder consultations carried out lead to the conclusion that Disaster Risk Reduction activities should be financed for a period of 18 months;

(6) For the purposes of this Decision, the Pacific countries involved are Papua New Guinea, Salomon Islands, Vanuatu and Fiji through regional initiatives;

(7) It is estimated that an amount of EUR 1,500,000 from budget article 23 02 03 of the general budget of the European Union is necessary to provide disaster preparedness activities (including public awareness measures); this amount will allow for community-based activities through consolidated pilot actions and transfer of experience, the development of innovative measures, as well as the development of focused regional or national actions to improve community-based inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) frameworks. This amount takes into account the available budget, other donors' contributions and other factors. The activities covered by this Decision may be financed in full in accordance with Article 253 of the Implementing Rules of the Financial Regulation;

(8) The present Decision constitutes a financing Decision within the meaning of Article 75 of the Financial Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/20022, Article 90 of the detailed rules for the implementation of the Financial Regulation determined by Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2342/2002, and Article 15 of the internal rules on the implementation of the general budget of the European Union