Lebanon and Cyprus emergencies 2006

The disaster

Raids by Lebanon-based Hezbollah on Israel, resulting in the killing of eight Israeli soldiers and the capture of another two has provoked Israeli military intervention in Lebanon. Israel carried out a heavy bombing campaign as well as a number of land incursions. With casualties on both sides, Lebanon has incurred extensive infrastructural and environmental damage. The latter also includes a sizable oil spill along the Lebanese coast. Even more tragic is the number of civilian casualties. Due to this, foreigners have fled Lebanon in their thousands, seeking repatriation through various routes, namely Cyprus, Syria and Jordan.

Request for assistance

The European Commission's Monitoring and Information Centre (MIC) received three separate requests for assistance related to this emergency.

Cyprus requested assistance on 21 July 2006 through the Community mechanism for civil protection asking participating states to assist it with the influx of evacuees reaching Cypriot shores in their hope to reach safety.

That same day, Lebanon also made an appeal to receive international assistance in the form of medicines, supplies, materials for shelter and construction and fire-fighting equipment.

In another request for assistance, dated 27 July 2006, Lebanon requested urgent help to contain the environmental damage caused by a major oil spill off its coast north of Beirut. Lebanon thus requested large amounts of dispersants, booms, absorbents, skimmers as well as specialised vessels and equipment needed to clean water from the pollutants.

Norway has offered nine metric tonnes of material assistance free of charge and it has been accepted by the Lebanese authorities. The Lebanese authorities are in close contact with the MIC and are currently planning how the assistance can be received.

The EU response

The MIC had already been monitoring the situation as it developed and had sent a number of pre-alert messages to the mechanism's participating states. As the activation of the mechanism for third countries needs to be done in close consultation with the Presidency of the Council, the Finnish Presidency gave its go-ahead for a civil protection operation. Participating states are matching these requests with the resources they can make available.

Humanitarian and evacuee dimension: The MIC  sent a three-person expert team to the post of Larnaca in Cyprus, headed by an Italian civil protection expert. This team was assisted by two MIC officials throughout its operation. Another three-person expert team was also deployed to Lebanon, headed by a Finnish civil protection expert. Both these teams provided valuable on-site information which significantly enhanced the value of the operation. Both teams were heavily involved in establishing a route through which assistance sent through the mechanism could be despatched. The team in Cyprus was also in constant contact with the Cypriot authorities and assisting them in managing and repatriating both EU and third-country evacuees. This part of the emergency was closed on 23 August 2006.

Oil pollution: As to the oil polluting the Lebanese shoreline, the Commission activated the mechanism asking member states whether they can provide the assistance being requested by Lebanon. In addition, the Commission triggered the International Charter (Space and Major Disasters) in order to obtain satellite images. Other detailed images and assessment were also provided by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre. These enabled Lebanon and neighbouring states measure the extent of the oil slick. Norway, Cyprus, France, Finland and Spain are among the countries that offered assistance in terms of equipment and material needed to clean the pollution through the civil protection mechanism. Three teams of experts seconded by Denmark were also deployed by the MIC to Lebanon.

The experts' final report stated that virtually all free oil at sea or in the harbours and marinas had been recovered by the end of September. Only very small quantities of free oil remained to be retrieved. As the oil pollution is not expected to spread further, the immediate phase of the emergency could be terminated. The MIC marine pollution teams involved in areas such as Fishermen’s Wharf, Ramlah Baida beach and a marina. Beach cleaning has taken place at the public beach in Beirut. The MIC marine pollution teams are also involved in a training session on beach cleaning the purpose of which is to train the trainers. These trainers were then be appointed as key persons in the beach cleaning operation.

Assistance offered through or notified to the MIC

The operation was also dealt with in close co-operation with other Commission services, notably DG RELEX and DG ECHO.

In addition to the €20 million already committed for relief activities in Lebanon, the Commission is proposing the allocation of further substantial humanitarian support, drawing on the emergency reserve of the EC budget. The approval of the budget authority (European Parliament and Council of Ministers) is required for this and the Commission is moving quickly to submit a formal request for the funds to be released. The aim is to increase the overall amount available to €50 million ... Read more

The Commission has allocated €11 million to help around 10,000 citizens from developing countries return home from Lebanon ... Read more.

Commissioner's visit to Larnaca port - press statement

European Commissioner Stavros Dimas, responsible for the Civil Protection Mechanism, travelled to Cyprus and met with the Cypriot government on 25 July in order to discuss further EU support in coping with the evacuation flows. The Commissioner stated: "I would like to thank the Cypriot authorities for their support for the victims of the events in Lebanon. My visit to Cyprus will allow me to get a better idea of what is still needed on the ground and to discuss how we can further improve the situation through the Civil Protection Mechanism." Cyprus has turned to the Civil Protection Mechanism for help to ask for support as well as assistance in removing bottlenecks in the relief and evacuation efforts. In response the Commission's Monitoring and Information Centre immediately dispatched an expert team to assist the Cypriot authorities and to assess the situation. The Commissioner met the MIC expert team on site. This team, which then included experts made available by Italy, Estonia, Finland and the Commission and assisted the local authorities in streamlining the relief and evacuation efforts. The Mechanism is also being used to coordinate the Member States' in-kind contributions to the humanitarian operation in Lebanon. The Commissioner brought a message of solidarity and pledges of further support to Cyprus. By providing expert support and concrete civil protection assistance, Europe is extended its hand of solidarity to both Cyprus and Lebanon.

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