EU effort in Pakistan needs years of commitment once the floods have receded

Brussels, 31st August 2010

Brussels, 31st August 2010 -- The European Parliament today met with EU Crisis Response Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva to discuss the Pakistan floods. ECR MEP Sajjad Karim, chairman of the parliament's Friends of Pakistan group, called on the commission to give a sustained commitment to Pakistan to assist with the recovery.

He praised the EU and European governments' responses to the crisis and said that it showed how the EU was standing 'shoulder to shoulder' with Pakistanis in their hour of crisis.

However, he said that the EU needs to adopt a two-pronged approach of continuing disaster relief and helping to put in place infrastructure that will mitigate further flooding and help get the country back on its feet.

Mr Karim, who last week organised a fundraising dinner which raised almost £150,000 for the effort, said:

"There was clear support for the ongoing EU humanitarian effort in Pakistan but MEPs were concerned about ensuring that Pakistan's people are not forgotten once the waters recede and the headlines move on.

"Of course we need to help with reconstruction efforts and to provide infrastructure in the area but most importantly we need to ensure that we put in place the tools that encourage the cogs of the areas' economy to begin to turn again. The EU can play a significant contribution to the longer-term effort by improving access to our markets so that Pakistanis can trade their way out of this current dire situation."

ENDS

Contact: James Holtum on +32 473 861762