EU development commissioner heading for Burma

Organising financial help for Burma will remain difficult until the West is given the “full picture” of the scale of the crisis, the European Commission warned today.

The Burmese regime is continuing to deny access to aid workers – but now Brussels is signalling that even co-ordinating the necessary financial backing will not be possible without more co-operation.

The warning came as EU development ministers gathered in Brussels for emergency talks on the situation, and the EU’s Development Commissioner Louis Michel prepared to fly to the region this evening – without a visa and with no guarantee that he will be let into the country.

“Mr Michel is going to the region via Bangkok, hoping to get access to Burma,” said a Commission spokesman. “If things are delayed he will probably stay in Bangkok. But he is leaving this evening and the logistics of his travel are still being organised.

“The point is that Mr Michel wants to leave no stone unturned to try to ensure he can meet the Burmese authorities and explain the importance of opening up an humanitarian aid corridor.”

The spokesman warned there may be no point in organising financial support without the promise of access.

“There is a problem of getting full information and it is difficult for us to know how to act financially if we are not getting the full picture.”

The Commissioner expects to take with him a strongly-worded statement from the 27 EU governments repeating the need for Burma to accept outside help in the wake of the catastrophe.

“We recognise that this is a difficult process but that does not exclude trying,” said Mr Michel’s spokesman.

“Any effort the Commissioner can engage in to ensure that this message of solidarity with the victims of the cyclone gets across, and the importance of opening up Burma is very well worth undertaking.”

He went on: “Every hour now is vital and the international community must convey a united message to Burma that our interests are of a humanitarian nature and are in no way political.”

The emergency talks were due to discuss the EU’s financial response to the crisis and to analyse latest reports of logistical difficulties, finding out exactly the scale of the disaster as well as the best means to help.

Meanwhile EU countries are organising immediate aid, co-ordinated by the Commission, including thousands of emergency health kits, tarpaulins and sheets, tents, blankets and water purification systems. But this afternoon’s meeting is likely to express reluctance to make large scale long-term commitments until and unless the Burmese authorities formally acknowledge the need to allow aid workers into the hardest-hit regions.

The Commission also reacted today to the unfolding scale of the earthquake tragedy which hit China. Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso sent a formal message to the Chinese leadership expressing readiness to offer humanitarian assistance “if needed”.