COMMISSIONER Don Ødegaard (International Secretary for Programme Resources, IHQ) and Major Cedric Hills (International Emergency Services Coordinator, IHQ) were among invited delegates to the European Commission Humanitarian Aid Organisation (ECHO) Annual Partners' Conference in Brussels, Belgium. They were there to witness the launch of the new five-year partnership agreement between ECHO and The Salvation Army which comes into force in January 2008.
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| Commissioner Don Ødegaard prepares to sign the partnership agreement |
Commissioner Ødegaard, signing the agreement on behalf of The Salvation Army, said: 'It is an honour that ECHO has invited The Salvation Army to become a partner in implementing humanitarian responses at times of crisis. The signing of the agreement marks the start of a new relationship and is an indication that our emergency services ministry has been vetted by ECHO as professional and appropriate. We look forward to working with the European Union for the benefit of those impacted by disaster.'
The European Union as a whole (ie, the Member States and the Commission) is one of the world's main humanitarian aid donors and ECHO is the service of the European Commission responsible for this activity. Through ECHO funding, some 18 million people are helped each year in more than 60 countries through 200 partners (non-governmental agencies, the Red Cross, and UN agencies like the UNHCR and the World Food Programme). The Humanitarian Aid Office spends more than €700 million a year on financing humanitarian projects.
Relations between ECHO and its partners are governed by Framework Partnership Agreements such as has been entered into with The Salvation Army, the purpose of which is to define roles and responsibilities in the implementation of humanitarian operations financed by the European Community. Thanks to ECHO, humanitarian action occupies a key position in the EU's external action.
'This new partnership is the result of a number of years' research and planning in partnership with our colleagues at territorial headquarters in The Netherlands,' explains Major Hills. 'Resourcing our emergency operations worldwide is a huge challenge. The partnership opens new possibilities for us to support territories at times of disaster.'
