EU NOT REVEALING ITS HAND YET ON 08 FUNDING FOR

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BRUSSELS 000451 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREF PREL PHUM EAID EUN SUBJECT: EU NOT REVEALING ITS HAND YET ON 08 FUNDING FOR IRAQI REFUGEES AND IDPS REF: A. A)STATE 30028 ¶B. B) BRUSSELS 00108 1.(SBU) Summary: In preparation for Ambassador James Foley's upcoming trip to Brussels and in response to reftel demarche, Refugee Officer and PRM Assistant held a series of meetings March 19-20 with European Commission (EC) officials, as well as UNHCR and others, to assess the Commission's 2008 funding plans for Iraqi refugees and IDPs. The European Commission Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO) has committed 20 million euros for 2008, up from 17.8 million in 2007, and has left the door open to allocate more from its general fund later in the year. The EC's External Relations Directorate (RELEX),which gave 48 million euros in 2007, has not said publicly yet how much it will allocate in 2008. The European Parliament, which has extensive budgetary oversight, weighed in with a March 13 report urging more funding for Iraqi refugees and IDPs. Representatives from the UNHCR office in Brussels, as well as IRC and other NGOs, criticize the EC for underfunding the Iraqi humanitarian crisis by "hiding behind" claims that needs assessments and program evaluation mechanisms are imperfect. End summary. ECHO funding to increase, but by how much? -------------- 2.(U) ECHO has so far allocated 20 million euros for Iraqi refugees and IDPs for 2008, up from 17.8 million last year (7.8 million for Iraq; 10 million for Syria, Jordan and Turkey). Julia Koch, Head of Sector for the Middle East, said that number may increase as the year goes on since ECHO keeps a significant portion of its budget in reserve to respond to humanitarian emergencies as they arise throughout the year. She noted that at this time last year, ECHO had not allocated any money for Iraqis, so the 20 million euros earmarked already this year represents an acknowledgment that needs have increased. The allocation decision is still in the clearance process at ECHO, but Koch said she expects the 20 million to be split more or less equally between IDPs in Iraq and refugees in surrounding countries. Question of vulnerability troubles ECHO -------------- 3.(SBU) ECHO seems to have moved from its position earlier in 2008 of insisting that the counts of refugees and IDPs are inaccurate and perhaps inflated. Instead, Koch said March 19 that ECHO is focusing on needs instead of numbers. ECHO's 
current concern, however, is in identifying the most vulnerable refugees and IDPs. Koch said the most vulnerable could represent 10 percent or 80 percent of the refugee and IDP populations, ECHO simply does not know. Because ECHO's mandate is to focus on life-saving humanitarian aid, it is important that ECHO money be focused on only the most needy, she said. When weighing priorities worldwide, can ECHO be sure that the average Iraqi refugee in Jordan is more needy than a refugee, for example, in Sudan, she asked. Judith Kumin, UNHCR Brussels Regional Representative, said that argument loses steam when one looks at the vast amount of money ECHO spent in the Balkans during the 1990s where many refugees and IDPs had needs that were different from those in an African or Southeast Asian context. "That discrepancy will always exist," she said. Kumin said ECHO, like other donors, should rely on UNHCR registration figures and vulnerability assessments. ECHO must track every euro cent -------------- 4.(SBU) Another concern that ECHO frequently raises is the difficulty of tracking how its funding is used in Iraq and the surrounding countries. In Syria, the problem stems from restrictions that the Syrian government has placed on NGOs. In particular, ECHO says an MOU provision requiring NGOs to have the government of Syria co-sign withdrawals from its local bank account runs counter to EC financial regulations. In Iraq, the problem is that general insecurity makes project monitoring difficult. In 2007, ECHO funded only ICRC within Iraq and set up a "remote monitoring" system. Koch said ECHO BRUSSELS 00000451 002 OF 002 has been satisfied with that process and will probably extend it to other IOs or NGOs this year. She notes that ECHO management often cites the need to track closely where its money goes because European taxpayers would not react well to hearing that even one euro had been diverted from core humanitarian aid. Kumin, of UNHCR, said ECHO has moved too far along the spectrum from verification of spending into auditing of accounts. All donors but ECHO rely on the UN Board of External Auditors, creating a dilemma for UNHCR, which does not want to respond to separate auditing requirements from each donor, she said. RELEX 2008 funding for Iraqis not yet public -------------- 5.(U) Because ECHO does not give money directly to governments, bilateral aid to Syria and Jordan has come from RELEX, the external relations arm of the EC. In 2007, RELEX gave a total of 48 million euro, according to figures given by Commission officials at a recent think tank event. The total includes 26 million euro to the Jordanian Ministry of Education, 9 million to the Syrian Ministry of Health, 3 million to UNICEF for education in Syria, and 10 million for IDPs in Iraq through Cluster F (refugees, IDPs and durable solutions) of the UN Development Group Iraq Trust Fund. The bulk of the funds came from RELEX's EU-Mediterranean Partnership (MEDA) account, while the UNICEF contribution came from the EU's Stability Instrument funding. Commission officials have not said publicly what the planned 2008 allocation will be, indicating only that they are in the early stages of programming. European Parliament calls for EU to do more -------------- 6.(U) The European Parliament (EP) on March 13 overwhelmingly adopted (506 in favor, 25 opposed and 26 abstentions) a report entitled "The European Union's Role in Iraq," which recommended that the European Council, together with the Commission develop a new Iraq strategy focusing on good governance, human rights, and humanitarian assistance. The EP specifically called for more assistance to Iraqi refugees in Jordan, Syria and other regional countries "and to significantly increase the transparency and efficiency of EU assistance to Iraqi refugees in those countries." It also called on ECHO to increase its support for refugees and IDPs through NGOs and international organizations. Comment -------------- 7.(SBU) Although it is nearly three months into the EU's fiscal year, the funding picture for Iraq and the region is remarkably unclear. ECHO has committed 20 million euro and hinted that more is to come, while RELEX has given no indication of its funding levels. The time appears opportune for Ambassador Foley to encourage increased EU funding for refugees and IDPs since funding decisions have not been finalized. The European Parliament, in its March 13 report, clearly called on the Commission to do more, so Ambassador Foley's April 1 dinner with MEPs should provide a receptive venue for U.S. views. MURRAY .