EU allocates another €25 million to humanitarian aid. On Thursday 4 June, European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides announced in Brussels that the European Commission is to increase it emergency aid by €25 million to help the victims of the worsening humanitarian crisis in Iraq. Stylianides was speaking at the launch of the Iraq humanitarian response plan - a meeting organised jointly by the EU and United Nations. “The number of people in need of life-saving assistance in Iraq has increased by 400% in less than a year. As fighting continues, the end of the conflict is still out of sight. This means our humanitarian aid is more needed than ever”, Stylianides said. He is due to visit the country and called on the parties in the conflict “to protect civilians and allow them safe passage when seeking safety from conflict-affected zones”. This additional aid brings the Commission's humanitarian aid for Iraq in 2015 to over €63 million. (Aminata Niang)