Brussels, 29/08/2012 (Agence Europe) - European Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response Kristalina Georgieva supports the French initiative to put the humanitarian situation in Syria at the centre of the debate on Thursday 30 August at the United Nations Security Council. She said that by supporting the efforts to obtain better access to those in need of urgent assistance, Europe is ready to increase its aid substantially beyond the €146 million already provided, in order to respond to the massive and growing needs of the region. In a statement published on Wednesday, she repeated the EU's call to all parties in the conflict to fully respect international humanitarian principles, and said that “the human consequences of this conflict are immense, both inside Syria and beyond its borders”. (AN/transl.fl)