Belgrade  -  Following this summer's devastating floods in Romania and Bulgaria, the Regional Meeting of the Stability Pact's Disaster Preparedness and Prevention Initiative (DPPI) last week (20-21 October) discussed ways how to strengthen regional co-operation in South Eastern Europe to be better prepared for disasters and to improve co-operation among the countries in responding to the consequences of disasters.

The representatives of Romania and Serbia and Montenegro appealed to SEE governments to be better prepared for mutual assistance in cases of disasters by using national response teams and by agreeing on border crossing procedures for such teams in case of emergencies.

Reacting to this proposal, Special Co-ordinator of Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe Erhard Busek described such measures as urgently needed.  Referring to the recurring flooding disasters which SEE has been experiencing in recent years and which have caused a large number of victims this summer, he called upon the region to make optimal use of existing international disaster response mechanisms, namely those existing with the UN, EU, NATO and the International Federation of Red Cross.

On a practical level, DPPI expert network should assist regional governments concerned in their efforts to provide training to national civil protection and disaster management agencies and by removing legal obstacles for cross-border emergency assistance.

The Disaster Preparedness and Prevention Initiative (DPPI), based in Sarajevo, was conceived as a regionally-owned initiative that seeks to provide a framework for South Eastern Europe countries to develop programs and projects leading to strengthened capabilities for the prevention and response to natural and man-made disasters.  At the same time, it aims to contribute to the development of a cohesive regional strategy for disaster preparedness and prevention.  It fosters collaboration and coordination across borders and enjoys support from the international community.

For further information, please contact Stability Pact's Spokesperson Mr Dragan Barbutovski at the SP Secretariat in Brussels (Tel: +32 2 401 87 25 or press@stabilitypact.org)
or Mr Sergej Anagnosti, DPPI Executive Secretary in Sarajevo
(Tel: +387 33 615-016 or sergej.anagnosti@stabilitypact.org)

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PR2005/022