the refugees
EU Foreign Ministers, meeting in Luxembourg on 8 October, defined the two basic strands of EU policy towards Afghanistan and the other Islamic countries involved in the crisis: first, a humanitarian intervention for refugees and displaced persons; second, a renewed effort of cooperation and political dialogue with the Islamic world. The European Commission has pledged that the humanitarian aid provided by the EU to Afghanistan will gradually increase as the needs arising from the flow of refugees and the increase of displaced persons in the country grow. The President of the Commission, Romano Prodi, pledged in a communiqué: “Concurrently with the military action aimed at combating terrorism, it is essential to increase the humanitarian aid to the Afghan people who have been suffering for so long. The European Commission will do all in its power to help”. The amount of aid (member States and Commission) for the Afghan population totals 314 million euros of which 212 million footed by the member States and 102 directly administered by the Commission through Echo (the EU’s Humanitarian Office). The funds managed by the Commission will be distributed as follows: 23.3 million allocated prior to 11 September for humanitarian programmes in 2001; 4 million allocated after 11 September as initial emergency aid to cope with the flow of refugees estimated in the region; 25 million, for which the Commission asks the budgetary authorities (EP/Council) to accelerate the procedures for authorizing withdrawal from the EU’s budgetary reserves. To these funds can be added a further 22.5 million of aid to refugees and 27 million for food aid. The major contributors among the member States are: United Kingdom (57.7 million), Netherlands (31.8), France (27,5), Germany (26.1) and Sweden (20.5).
