Brussels, 04/09/2006 (Agence Europe) - In response to a request from Kofi Annan, the Secretary General of the United Nations, the European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid Louis Michel announced an additional contribution of €16 million from the European Development Fund (EDF) to finance the current elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where, after the first round of voting in the presidential and legislative elections on 30 July, a second round in the Presidential election and regional elections are scheduled for 29 October (see in particular EUROPE 9243,9248,9252,9253). In a press release, the Commission notes that, with a total contribution of €165 million, it is the largest donor to this democratic electoral process, and, for the present elections, the EU is sending its largest observation team ever.
The press release points out that, in the RDC, the Commission also funds humanitarian aid to the people most in need (around €50 million in 2006), as well as programmes on health, justice, governance, reform of the security sector and the restoration of basic infrastructure.