MEPs call for Early Warning System following Tsunami Tragedy.

1.13.40pm UTC (GMT +0000) Wed 5th Jan 2005

On the day that people across the EU including European Parliamentarians held a three-minute silence for the victims of the Tsunami in Asia, members of the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs, Budget and Development committees along with South East Asia and South Asia delegations met to discuss their response to the tragedy.

The meeting was addressed by Ambassadors and representatives of the countries most affected by the Tsunami, who informed MEPs of the devastating consequences for their individual countries.

The EU and its member states have so far pledged over 430 million Euros, for the appeal but this is expected to rise to over 500million.We have also provided practical help on the ground .

Following the meeting, Liz Lynne MEP a Liberal Democrat member of the South East Asia Delegation in the European Parliament said that there is a need for an early warning system to be set up.

"The sheer scale of this disaster is horrific. One cannot feel anything but the utmost sympathy for all those who have been involved and for the families and friends of those who have died. It is not just the current devastation that is the problem though as many people's livelihoods have been destroyed. It will be several years before much of the land will be in use again for growing crops and many fishermen have lost their boats.

"The meeting today was to discuss both our response but also how to limit the number of casualties in the future. Hopefully out of this tragedy the countries in the area will work more closely together and the EU should be there to help in any way it can.

"All though many people are rightly thinking in the short term, we must also think about the long term implications of this and learn from such a tragedy. We must set-up an early warning system which would not have saved the buildings that were destroyed but would have saved many lives."

ENDS