European Commission To Send 50 Million Euros in Aid to Syrian Civilians

Refugee crisis in Syria's neighbors continues to worsen

The European Commission is preparing to release an additional €50 million 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.

It would bring to €200 million the assistance from the European Commission and Member States - 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.

Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva, responsible for Humanitarian Aid, Civil Protection and Crisis Response, said: "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.

I also want to take this opportunity to call 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".