Brussels, 04/05/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 4 May, the European Commission approved financial aid of €19.6 million to help the people devastated by the violent earthquake in Nepal at the end of April. This brings the Commission's assistance to €22.6 million.
An amount of €16.6 million will be paid directly to the Nepalese government this week and another €3 million in emergency aid was disbursed on Monday. These sums come on top of the €3 million in initial emergency aid that the Commission disbursed last week (see EUROPE 11303). Combined with the bilateral aid granted by around 15 member states, Europe's assistance comes to nearly €40 million.
“EU solidarity is strong and tangible” said European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides, back from his joint mission to Nepal with United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos (see EUROPE 11305). Their three-day mission enabled “EU solidarity” to be expressed to the Nepalese people and government, Stylianides said, as well as the efforts of the humanitarian workers on the ground to be supported and the needs of the people affected to be assessed. He listed the most urgent needs - shelter for the people whose homes have collapsed, and the supply of food and clean water. Stylianides added: “We are in a race against time to avoid the situation on the ground becoming worse because of the monsoon season that is about to start”.
Stylianides also said that he had raised the issue with the Nepalese government of how long the customs procedures take for emergency aid to enter their territory. “I'm pleased to say the situation is now being dealt with effectively”, he said. (Mathieu Bion)