EU to give $132m for relief

2005-01-06 14:30

A tsunami victim carries a UNHCR aid pack in a camp at the eastern coastal town of Batticaloa, Sri Lanka (Petros Karadjias, AP)

Jakarta - The European Union will donate $132m for immediate tsunami relief and look at setting up a $1bn loan for affected nations, the European Commission president said on Thursday.

Jose Manuel Barroso said he also would ask the European Parliament to approve another $461m in aid for longer-term reconstruction of countries devastated by the December 26 disaster.

He said: "I think the European Parliament is ready to be very generous." He was speaking on the sidelines of the international donor summit in Jakarta.

He said the loan would be on "very favourable terms" and administered by the European Development Bank and other international banks.

Barroso's comments came just hours after United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan told the conference that nations who pledged money for tsunami-hit areas needed to immediately deliver on their promises.

Annan urged nations to channel $1.7bn already pledged to the relief and reconstruction effort to the UN for relief, including $977m for emergency aid.

- AP