12/04/2011 (Agence Europe) - Humanitarian aid and civil protection in Libya, Côte d'Ivoire and Japan. On Monday 11 April, the EU Council of Ministers approved, without debate, financial commitments in the EU budget 2011 allowing additional resources to be made available for humanitarian aid and civil protection in Libya, Côte d'Ivoire and Japan. Commitment appropriations are made through transfer from the emergency aid reserve (€27.5 million in payment appropriations), to allow the EU to respond swiftly and in good time to any possible aggravation of the humanitarian situation in Libya and Côte d'Ivoire, and to face further needs as they occur. A further €5 million in commitment appropriations (2.5 million in payment appropriations) will also be transferred from the emergency aid reserve for civil protection in third countries, to be used to maintain sufficient capacity of the EU civil protection mechanism for further intervention for the remainder of the financial year, following the Libya crisis and the tsunami in Japan. (L.C./transl.jl)