mr president i would like to join with colleagues who raised the issue of haiti
i know we will be having a debate on this during the part-session but there is one particular aspect i want to raise now and it is the fact that the united states is far better organised
yes they are nearer to the region than the european union
individual member states have responded very well
we see for example the belgian air force in the vicinity
we are the biggest donor of aid in the world and when it comes to humanitarian aid we should be efficient in that donation
i believe it is time under the new lisbon treaty to look at having on a rolling basis a six-month standby team including large and small member states that will be able to deliver humanitarian aid where it is needed on agreement between the institutions
it does not have to be the same standby group for each six months it could change with the presidency but there should be a standby group so that we can deliver aid under a humanitarian eu flag
