tsunami. The European Humanitarian Aid Office, ECHO, a crisis-tested system

(B2 archives) At the headquarters of the European Humanitarian Aid Office. 12 rue de Genève... a rather ordinary three-storey office building, made of glass and metal, typical in this area near the airport and NATO where many international companies are based. We are at the headquarters of Echo, the European Humanitarian Aid Office, which depends on the European Commission.

Earthquake in Asia obliges, the man on duty for the Christmas holidays, Jean-Claude Heyraud, has not been idle in recent days. Scattered to the four corners of Europe because of holidays, which in Lisbon, which in Aveyron, the administrators of the cell of Echo 3, in charge of Asia, are hard at work. Our work, explains Jorge Pereiro Pinon, head of the Southeast Asia desk: “ assess needs and prepare decisions to allocate funding ". A “narrative” work that may seem abstruse given the urgency. But very useful. " We must justify why we ask and how we spend public money ».

First imperative: evaluation. For this, the European Commission has its network of delegations, in New Delhi and Jakarta for example. But it relies above all on the eye and the experience of the humanitarian operators present in the region. " NGOs with whom we have worked for a long time, such as Doctors Without Borders, Caritas or Handicap International, the Red Cross, or United Nations organizations,” explains Antoine Lemasson, in charge of South Asia (Sri-Lanka…). Logic. They will then be the ones who will carry out the relief operations with European money.

In several years of existence, the system is now broken in. In the event of a crisis, ECHO can immediately release 3 million euros. Then, it is a question, country by country or project by project, of justifying any other outflow of money. An additional 30 million euros is now available. But flexibility is not absent. " In an emergency, we can fund projects retroactively to the date of the disaster “, details Jorge Pereiro Pinon. This allows NGOs to start taking action as soon as they have a European agreement. If necessary, other funding can be released with the agreement of the Council of European Ministers. Because these sums come directly from the Community budget.

Aid from Member States are therefore added to this resource. The European Commission does not centralize all European aid, as a principle of subsidiarity obliges. But everyone stays informed. A system, called CIRCA, lists the resources and funding that each Member State makes available. And, if necessary, the phone works between capitals to adjust the shot. To the apparent chagrin of the Americans who recently sent a message to Brussels " there should be less competition and more coordination ". Will European generosity overshadow the global giant?

(Nicolas Gros-Verheyde)

* Published in Ouest-France, September 2008