Brussels, 13/02/2001 (Agence Europe) - The Commission approved the granting of EUR 17.8 million in additional humanitarian aid to refugees, displaced persons and other vulnerable categories of the population in Yugoslavia, Kosovo, Albania and the FYROM (Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia). Taken from the ECHO budget (Community humanitarian aid office), this amount should contributes towards covering the needs in terms of health, housing, food and the voluntary return of the people concerned. EUR 7.6 million are aimed at Serbia (which hosts the largest number of refugees and displaced persons) to: - meet the most pressing humanitarian needs following the crisis in Kosovo; - continue assistance to refugees, displaced persons and vulnerable groups of the local population as well as host communities; - promote the voluntary return of refugees to Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. The remaining 10.2 million, will be divided between Kosovo, Montenegro, Albania and FYROM to cover the urgent needs of the winter and facilitate the transition of these countries towards a more long-term development.
This aid is in addition to the EUR 31.6 million granted in December 2000 to the region as a whole. The cooperation on the ground is intensified between ECHO and the European Agency for Reconstruction, responsible for Kosovo, Serbia and Montenegro.