At the High-Level Donor Conference for the Caribbean in New York
today, Commissioner for International Cooperation and
Development, Neven Mimica pledged a
substantial €300 million development support package to the
Caribbean region. This assistance comes in the aftermath of the
recent hurricanes Irma and Maria.
Out of the total amount, about a third will be new grant
resources for the countries of the region.
Commissioner Mimica said: "Caribbean
countries have again been struck by deadly
hurricanes. The European Union stands by the
region, and our assistance package of €300 million will provide
much needed support to accelerate recovery, strengthen
resilience, and step up progress towards a sustainable economic
path. The EU is supporting the region to reinforce its
resilience to natural disasters and climate change."
While some of the funds will be used to cover humanitarian gaps
in Dominica, St Kitts and Nevis, and Cuba, the majority will
provide support for medium-term reconstruction and
rehabilitation efforts at national level in Antigua and
Barbuda, in Dominica, in St Kitts and Nevis, in Cuba and
Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs). At regional level,
the EU's assistance will help to build longer term resilience
by increasing the region's disaster preparedness as well as its
ability to adapt to climate change.
In the margins of the conference,
Commissioner Mimica will meet key
Caribbean counterparts to discuss reconstruction efforts, EU
support and overall bilateral relations. This includes the
prospects for a renewed partnership, after the Cotonou
Agreement will expire in 2020. The
Cotonou Agreement is the current legal framework for the
relations between the EU and the Caribbean region.
Finally, the Commissioner is also signing a new programme with
the President of the Caribbean Development Bank, Dr Warren
Smith. This programme will support the development of
geothermal energy sources. The project will help these
countries to reduce their dependence on energy imports and
hence, promote clean energy sources and improve their energy
security.
Background
In the aftermath of the hurricanes the EU has intervened
immediately to provide immediate relief to those in need.
Under the EU Civil Protection
Mechanism, EU Member States have provided logistical
support for humanitarian relief, civil protection expertise and
in-kind assistance to affected Caribbean countries and
territories. This has been complemented by humanitarian
assistance worth €2.9 million to provide shelter, water and
sanitation, food, logistics and health in Dominica, Antigua and
Barbuda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Cuba, Dominican Republic,
Haiti, Sint Maarten, and Turks and Caicos.
Moreover, within few weeks after the disaster, the European
Commission has disbursed €7 million to the state budgets of
Anguilla and Turks and Caicos from on-going programmes. A new
budget support payment of €3.5 million will be released shortly
for Dominica.
The EU has also provided funding for the Post Disaster Needs
Assessment (PDNAs) which have been carried out jointly with the
UN and the World Bank in Antigua and Barbuda and in Dominica.
Looking ahead, the EU has put resilience at the centre of
its development policy – highlighting the need to move
from crisis containment to anticipation, prevention and
preparedness. Therefore, the EU will join forces with the
Caribbean islands to reduce structural vulnerability, and
increase the resilience of economic infrastructure and fragile
coastal ecosystems to extreme recurrent natural events. The EU
support will target interventions at national and regional
level, and look into innovative financing solutions and
mechanisms to help Caribbean countries in reducing
vulnerability and building long term resilience.
