THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No.1257/96 of 20 June 1996 concerning humanitarian aid, and in particular Article 2 (a) and Article 13 thereof;
Whereas:
(1) Hurricane Ida and related floods and landslides have affected several countries in Central America and the Caribbean;
(2) El Salvador and Nicaragua have been most hit, with tens of thousands of people affected, many of whom are still living in temporary shelter; almost 3,000 houses were damaged or destroyed and serious damage was done to agricultural land, with direct implications for the vulnerable populations' livelihood;
(3) In El Salvador, the floods and landslides related to Hurricane Ida claimed the lives of 157 people and a state of emergency was declared on 8 November 2009; both El Salvador and Nicaragua have requested international assistance;
(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) Humanitarian aid Actions financed by this Decision should be of a maximum duration of six months;
(6) For the purpose of this Decision, the Central American countries involved are El Salvador and Nicaragua;
(7) It is estimated that an amount of EUR 1,000,000 from budget article 23 02 01 of the general budget of the European Communities is necessary to provide humanitarian assistance to some 20,000 vulnerable people affected by Hurricane Ida and the related floods and landslides, taking into account the available budget, other donors' contributions and other factors. The activities covered by this Decision may be financed in full 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 1605/2002, 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 Communities;
HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:
Article 1
1. In accordance with the objectives and general principles of humanitarian aid, the Commission hereby approves a total amount of EUR 1,000,000 for the financing of emergency humanitarian Actions in Central America from budget article 23 02 01 of the 2009 general budget of the European Communities. 2. In accordance with Article 2 (a) of Council Regulation No.1257/96, the principal objective of this Decision is to save and preserve the lives of the people affected by Hurricane Ida and related floods and landslides in El Salvador and Nicaragua. The humanitarian Actions shall be implemented in the pursuance of the following specific objective:
- to assist the victims of Hurricane Ida and related floods and landslides in El Salvador and Nicaragua with integrated relief and early recovery assistance
The full amount of this Decision is allocated to this specific objective.
Article 2
1. The period for the implementation of the Actions financed under this Decision shall start on 8 November 2009. Expenditure under this Decision shall be eligible from the same date. The duration of individual humanitarian aid Actions financed under this Decision shall be limited to a maximum of six months.
2. If the implementation of individual actions is suspended owing to force majeure or other exceptional circumstances, the period of suspension shall not be taken into account in the implementing period of the Decision in respect of the Action suspended.
3. In accordance with the contractual provisions ruling the Agreements financed under this Decision, the Commission may consider eligible those costs arising and incurred after the end of the implementing period of the Action which are necessary for its winding-up.
Article 3
1. In accordance with Article 253 of the Implementing Rules and having regard to the urgency of the Action, the availability of other donors and other relevant operational circumstances, funds under this Decision may finance humanitarian Actions in full.
2. Actions supported by this Decision will be implemented either by non-profit-making organisations which fulfil the eligibility and suitability criteria established in Article 7 of Council Regulation (EC) No. 1257/96 or International Organisations.
3. The Commission shall implement the budget:
* either by direct centralised management with Non-governmental Organisations * or by joint management with International Organisations that are signatories to the Framework Partnership Agreements (FPA) or the EC/UN Financial Administrative Framework Agreement (FAFA) and which were subject to the four pillar assessment in line with Article 53d of the Financial Regulation
Article 4
This Decision shall take effect on the date of its adoption.
Done at Brussels,
For the Commission
Member of the Commission