Brussels: The European Union approved on Tuesday
230 million euros (USD 335 million) in aid for 13 African,
Caribbean and Pacific countries to help them confront the
economic crisis.
The funds include 215 million euros from the so-called
Vulnerability FLEX mechanism -- a 500 million euro fund
adopted in August to help ACP nations deal with the impact of
the crisis.
"Developing countries were hit hard by the crisis due to
their poor resilience to external shocks," EU Development and
Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Karel De Gucht said in a
statement.
He said the new mechanism is the EU's "swift response to
help countries maintain priority spending, thereby assisting
the worst affected countries to reduce the social costs of
this crisis."
The nations receiving V-FLEX aid are Benin (25 million
euros), Burundi (13.6 million), the Central African Republic
(7.6 million), the Comoros (4.7 million), Ghana (35 million),
Grenada (five million), Guinea Bissau (eight million), Haiti
(30 million), Malawi (25 million), Mauritius (10.9 million),
Seychelles (nine million), Sierra Leone (12 million) and
Zambia (30 million).
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, December 15, 2009, 23:25