The European Union agreed on January 25 2010 to send a gendarmerie force to Haiti to help maintain order following the devastating earthquake that shook the country on January 12.
 
EU foreign ministers, meeting in Brussels, agreed to create a "co-ordination cell" to exchange information about the civil and military resources contributed by the member states. This cell, to be named EUCO-Haiti, will be based in Brussels and Haiti, a media statement said.   
 
The gendarmerie force will total about 300 people, most of them from countries with militarised police forces, and will operate under the European flag, according to Spanish foreign minister Miguel Ángel Moratinos. The decision came in response to a request from the UN to strengthen its mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). Some of the troops are already on their way.
 
The European Union's High Representative for Foreign Policy and Security, Catherine Ashton, said at the end of the meeting that the EU will work to finalise a short, medium and long-term plan to help the Haitian authorities rebuild the country, and would send a reconnaissance mission for the purpose. 
 
The European Commissioner for Development, Karel de Gucht, said it was a matter of urgency to build camps for the hundreds of thousands of people who have been internally displaced by the earthquake.
 
De Gucht said that in Haiti, "the state has practically disappeared" and that reconstruction of the country would take years, and would require the help of the entire international community.
 
De Gucht also briefed MEPs on rescue and reconstruction efforts after the recent earthquake.
 
MEPs asked him about the EU's visibility on the ground, the medium and long-term challenges of the reconstruction process and the possibility of establishing an EU rapid reaction capacity.
 
"Given the scope of the catastrophe, the situation is satisfactory (...). All those that need to receive care have received it so far," De Gucht was quoted by a European Parliament media statement as saying.
 
An urgent problem to come in the rainy season will be to shelter about 250 000 people who now live on the streets and in informal camps that have been precariously built.
 
 
Development Committee Chair Eva Joly (Greens/EFA, FR), welcomed the EU’s rapid response, but noted that "the deployment of this aid has been slowed down by problems linked to logistics co-ordination and the lack of security on the ground".
 
Even before the earthquake, Haiti was a failed state, said Enrique Guerrero Salom (S&D, ES).
 
"We need to construct and not reconstruct Haiti (...). The EU should have a clear role in equipping the new Haitian state with political structures," he said.
 
De Gucht admitted that "institution-building is easier on paper than in practice", noting that "if there is no local support, it is very difficult to have institution-building".
 
A priority for the EU is the urgent need to put in place the Haitian government "so they can make decisions and the Haitian people have their voice heard in the recovery operations and particularly in the reconstruction phase," De Gucht said.
 
Replying to Gay Mitchell (EPP, IE), on the question of more EU visibility on the ground, De Gucht emphasised that the European Commission as such is not present on the ground as the humanitarian aid is directed through NGOs and UN organisations.
 
"You can't really see they are European, but they are there on the ground and their help is much appreciated - we should not be ashamed of our efforts! It's true that there is a visibility problem but then, what is the most important thing? Is it visibility or is it actually getting the work done?"
 
"The question of visibility is in the end is also a question of political will" of EU member states which act in Haiti under the national flag, he said.
 
Asked by several MEPS about the appropriateness of establishing an EU operational force which could be deployed in such cases, De Gucht said that the explicit solidarity clause in the Treaty of Lisbon "would need to be implemented in concrete terms", adding that now the "climate is propitious" for the European Commission to present a proposal for a possible rapid reaction mechanism. In this context, he also mentioned the creation of a European Volunteers Corps.
 
As to debt relief for Haiti, Charles Goerens (ALDE, LU), expressed a preference for "gifts rather than lending." De Gucht told MEPs that all the EU money made available would be grants, because at this stage, loans would not make any sense.
Foreign ministers and aid groups leading the effort to help Haiti recover from a massive earthquake met on January 25 in Canada for their first conference to discuss relief and reconstruction efforts, the Voice of America said.

The meeting came as aid workers in Haiti struggled to provide assistance to hundreds of thousands of survivors.

The talks in Montreal are aimed at reviewing the progress of aid delivery and laying the groundwork for a larger meeting to define strategies for rebuilding Haiti.

Haitian prime minister Jean-Max Bellerive is calling for a lengthy global commitment to help his country.

Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper says while the international community continues to focus on humanitarian assistance, it is time to look at the longer term challenge of reconstruction.

"The international community must be prepared for a sustained, significant effort in Haiti, relying on the leadership of the government of Haiti and in line with its priorities. It is not an exaggeration to say that ten years of hard work at least awaits the world in Haiti," Harper said.

Before heading to Canada, US secretary of state Hillary Clinton told reporters that proposals for the US and other countries to allow more Haitian immigration would be considered as part of the long-term recovery effort.

"We are looking at every option that can provide a better future for the Haitian people. This is largely, however, within the authority of individual countries. But we are certainly looking at that, and we will have more to say later," Clinton said.

Nearly two weeks after the January 12 quake crippled the capital, Port-au-Prince, a huge US-led international relief operation is struggling to feed, house and care for hundreds of thousands of survivors, the Voice of America said.

Kate Conrad, a spokesperson for the aid organisation Save the Children, which has operated in Haiti for 30 years, says food, water and medical care continue to be the most urgent needs.

"Our medical teams are reporting primarily pink eye, skin rashes, things that you would commonly expect. Some cases of diarrhea, which is extremely worrying, because diarrhea kills small children, but no major outbreaks, thankfully," Conrad said.

Outside of Port-au-Prince, Haitians say they have received little, if any, international relief.

Many Haitians continue to live in the streets or in tent cities and are desperate for aid.

The International Organisation for Migration says Haiti will need at least 100 000 tents to provide shelter for 500 000 people.

Haitian government officials estimate the death toll from the earthquake is 200 000.