Brussels, 11/03/2011 (Agence Europe) - As soon as news emerged about the earthquake in North-East Japan on Friday, messages of solidarity and condolence flooded in from the European Union along with offers of aid.
Speaking from the special European summit in Brussels on Friday, the president of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, and the president of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, issued a joint statement: “We are deeply concerned at the news of the devastating earthquake which has struck Japan, causing a number of fatalities and serious material damage. The European Union expresses its solidarity and condolences to the people and government of Japan, and to the families of the victims at this difficult time. We stand ready to assist in any way we can in case of need.”
On behalf of the European Parliament, its president, Jerzy Buzek, expressed his sincerest sympathy with the Japanese people and the friends and families of the victims of the national catastrophe. In a statement published on Friday he said that the EP stood alongside the Japanese people and government and was thinking of the people affected by this unimaginable tragedy, the people who have lost loved ones, their homes and their belongings. Buzek said he was sure that the high standards of building and infrastructure in Japan and the high level of preparedness of the Japanese people had been able to limit the amount of damage and the number of people killed. The European Council has called for the necessary aid to be mobilised (see related article). (A.N./transl.fl)