THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No.1257/96 of 20 June 1996 concerning humanitarian aid , and in particular Article 2 and Article 15(2) thereof; Whereas:
(1) Syria is experiencing a drought which is by far the worst over the last forty years and it is the third year in a row that Syria is hit by a drought of regional dimension. Around 800,000 persons are considered as severely affected;
(2) The drought has affected the whole country but more severely the Eastern and Northern governorates which are considered the country's food basket. The inhabitants of these areas, predominantly herders and subsistence farmers, have exhausted their coping mechanisms and are put at risk of rapid loss of livelihood and increased malnutrition.
(3) Given the scale of the disaster, the United Nations agencies launched, with the support of the national authorities, a "Syria Drought Response Plan" in August 2009. The total request is USD 52,938,616.
(4) To reach populations in need, humanitarian aid should be channelled through NonGovernmental 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) An assessment of the humanitarian situation leads to the conclusion that humanitarian aid Actions should be financed by the Union for a period of 12 months;
(6) It is estimated that an amount of EUR 2,000,000 from budget article 23 02 02 of the general budget of the European Union is necessary to provide humanitarian assistance to over 70,000 rural dwellers, taking into account the available budget, other donors' contributions and other factors. The activities covered by this Decision may be financed in full in accordance with Article 253 of the Implementing Rules of the Financial Regulation;
(7) 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 Union;
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION :
Article 1
1. In accordance with the objectives and general principles of humanitarian aid, the Commission hereby approves a total amount of EUR 2,000,000 for the financing of humanitarian Actions in Food aid from budget article 23 02 02 of the 2009 general budget of the European Union.
2. In accordance with Article 2 of Council Regulation No.1257/96, the principal objective of this Decision is to provide humanitarian food assistance to the most vulnerable population affected by the drought in Syria.. The humanitarian Actions shall be implemented in the pursuance of the following specific objective:
- To address the humanitarian needs of the most vulnerable segments of the population hit by drought in Syria.
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 1 January 2010 and shall run for 12 months. Eligible expenditure shall be committed during the implementing period of the Decision.
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.
4. The Authorising Officer may, where this is justified by the humanitarian situation, extend the duration of the Decision for a maximum of 6 months provided that the total duration of the Decision does not exceed 18 months, in accordance with Article 90.4 of the Implementing Rules of the Financial Regulation.
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 suitability criteria established in Article 7 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/96 or by 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 will take effect on the date of its adoption.
Article 5
This Decision is addressed to the delegated authorising officer.
Done at Brussels,
For the Commission
Peter Zangl, Director-General