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 aid1 , and in particular Article 2(a), 4 and 13 thereof;
Whereas:
(1) The Tropical Depression 12-E and related floods and landslides have affected several countries in Central America since 10 October, causing major humanitarian needs all over the region;
(2) El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua already heavily affected by the rainy season which started in May 2011, have been most hit, with more than 700,000 of people affected, some of whom have been evacuated to temporary shelter;
(3) In El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua the floods and landslides related to tropical Depression 12-E claimed the lives of at least 120 people and a state of emergency was declared in early October in Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras and El Salvador.
(4) At present, preliminary information is available about the damage caused by the Tropical depression 12-E and needs' assessment are still ongoing but it is clear that drinking water and sewerage systems have been affected and primary and secondary roads and bridges have been blocked, damaged or destroyed restricting and delaying access to affected areas;
(5) To reach populations in need, humanitarian aid should be channelled through nongovernmental Organisations (NGOs), Member States' Specialised Agencies and international organisations including United Nations (UN) agencies. Therefore the European Commission should implement the budget by direct centralised management or by joint management;
(6) Humanitarian aid actions financed by this Decision should be of a maximum duration of 6 months;
(7) For the purposes of this Decision the Central American countries covered are El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua;
(8) It is estimated that an amount of EUR 4,000,000 from budget article 23 02 01 of the general budget of the European Union is necessary to provide humanitarian assistance to over 100,000 most vulnerable local population affected by the disaster, taking 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;
(9) 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 2342/20023, and Article 15 of the internal rules on the implementation of the general budget of the European Union4;
(10) Pursuant to Article 13 of Council Regulation (EC) N° 1257/96, the opinion of the Humanitarian Aid Committee is not required.
HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:
Article 1
In accordance with the objectives and general principles of humanitarian aid, the Commission hereby approves a total amount of EUR 4,000,000 for the financing of emergency humanitarian actions in Central America from budget article 23 02 01 of the 2011 general budget of the European Union.
In accordance with Article 2(a) and 4 of Council Regulation No.1257/96, the principal objective of this Decision is to provide emergency humanitarian aid to the victims of Tropical Depression 12-E and other hydro-meteorological disasters in Central America. The humanitarian actions shall be implemented in the pursuance of the following specific objective:
– To improve the humanitarian situation of people affected by Tropical Depression 12-E and other hydro-meteorological disasters in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua through multi-sectoral assistance.
The full amount of this Decision is allocated to this specific objective.
