The European Commission is preparing to release an additional €50 million in humanitarian funding to help Syrian civilians caught up in their country’s crisis. This will bring the Commission’s total contribution to €119 million.
The release of the funds will begin as soon as the European Parliament and the Council have approved the decision a news item from the EU Neighbourhood Info Point released on 7 September said.
According to the Commission’s press release this would bring the assistance from the European Commission and Member States to €200 million - roughly half of all international humanitarian aid to the crisis. This puts the European Union in a clear lead in responding to the UN’s call for more funding.
“The humanitarian situation in Syria is worsening almost daily now that the hostilities have slipped into civil war. There are already tens of thousands of Syrian refugees in Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and Iraq. This calls for massive and effective humanitarian aid to reach those in urgent need of medical supplies and items such as baby food. This is why we are stepping up our assistance in this desperate situation”, said Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva, responsible for Humanitarian Aid, Civil Protection and Crisis Response, said: . The Commissioner also called once more on all parties to the conflict to respect the lives of innocent civilians caught up in the fighting through no fault of their own.
