Brussels, 12/01/2004 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has approved a series of emergency aid measures for countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America totalling EUR 31.296 million. The aid is being channelled through the budget of the EU's humanitarian aid office, ECHO. The aid is broken down as follows:
Afghanistan: EUR 6.27 million: Angola: EUR 900 000; refugee from Bhutan living in Nepal: EUR 2 million; Central America: EUR 520 000 for combatting malnutrition; Ecuador: EUR 206 000 for Colombian refugees, Mali: EUR 500 000 in aid for people suffering from cholera; North Korea: EUR 5 million in emergency food aid, focussing on malnourished children; Democratic Republic of Congo: EUR 2 million for victims of the civil war; the Dominican Republic: EUR 900 000 for flood victims, Ethiopia: EUR 2 million for people suffering from the drought and ethnic violence; refugees from the Western Sahara living in Algeria: EUR 5 million, Somalia: EUR 2 million in aid for people suffering from the armed conflict, drought and floods, and Sri Lanka: EUR 2 million for de-mining.
European Parliament plenary session