Beneficiary countries have been selected on the basis of 6 enumerated criteria: commitment to the Mine Ban Treaty (MBT or Ottawa Convention), high humanitarian and developmental needs, strategic importance for EU, sustainability and coherence with wider assistance, proven commitment of non-states parties to mine action and the principles of the MBT, efficiency and effectiveness of the local/national mine action planning and programmes.

The main priorities in the 2006 Work Programme are the marking, fencing and clearance of mines and reduction of stockpiles; mine risk education; support to facilities for mine victims and reintegration of mine victims into their communities; building up the capacity of local and regional authorities to tackle landmines in an efficient and cost-effective manner.

The strategy, which will run from 2005-7, aims to reduce the anti-personnel landmine threat; to alleviate mine victim suffering and aid socio-economic reintegration; and to enhance local and regional mine action capacity.

The main priorities in the work programme are actions to eliminate the threat that antipersonnel landmines/unexploded ordinance (APL/UXO) represent for the affected populations and to alleviate their dramatic effects (through mine clearance, mine risk education, risk reduction and destruction of landmines in stocks or dumping grounds); and actions to build and reinforce local capacity and to increase mine action efficiency and eff ...[+++]ectiveness (impact surveys and associated tools).

For example, the EU has supported Landmine Impact Surveys in 6 countries, among which Afghanistan, with UNMAS (UN Mine Action Service).

6. Deplores the continuing lack of effective coordination and coherence among the various European Union policies likely to have an impact on the fight against mines and asks that effective, flexible and rapid decision-making procedures be applied when dealing with action against mines; attaches great importance to a considerable increase in EU funding for mine action, to be implemented efficiently and rapidly: this increase in funding should primarily benefit the horizontal budget line to allow for greater coherence and effectiveness of EU mine action, and should be based on clear criteria for the decision-making process, which will al ...[+++]so allow long-term funding in order to meet the development objectives of mine action programmes;