Tuesday, January 19, 2010

EU pledges €400m for Haiti as charities in UK welcome public generosity

The EU today pledged €400m (£354m) in aid for Haiti as officials ­described the public response to the disaster as "overwhelming".

After an emergency meeting in Brussels, the European commission, the EU's executive arm, said it would provide €137m for short-term needs and at least €200m for the longer term.

"We have taken swift action," said the EU's foreign policy chief, Lady Ashton, after a meeting of the EU's 27 development ministers.

The EU member states will provide an additional €92m, with Britain tripling its commitment to £20m to deal with what the international development secretary, Douglas Alexander, said was "an almost unprecedented level of devastation".

France committed €10m and Italy said it was willing to waive €40m of Haiti's debt on top of its aid pledges

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