By IPS Correspondents
BRUSSELS, Jan 3 2005 (IPS)

The EU is stepping up relief efforts in the tsunami-hit areas around the Indian Ocean.

The European Commission, the European Union (EU) executive, committed a further 10 million euros (13.5 million dollars) to the disaster Friday (Dec. 31). That takes the EU humanitarian aid to 23 million euros (31 million dollars).

The bloc is considering a further 50 millions euros (67 million dollars) in aid to Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Indonesia, and more aid beyond that from its emergency reserve funds.

The European Commission said Monday that the total EU aid including that offered directly by member countries stands at 240 million euros (323 million dollars).

Commission spokesperson Gregor Kreuzhuber said further aid is likely. "We are very confident that 240 million euros will not be the final word of the European Union," he told media representatives. "The figure is set to rise."

Simon Horner, acting head of information at the European Commission’s humanitarian aid office (ECHO), said the Commission was "looking at preparing a new funding decision."

Horner said a further 221 million euros available in the community budget as emergency reserve could be put to use.

ECHO says it is too early to estimate the financial needs of all areas affected by the tsunami, and to differentiate between needs for the "humanitarian cause and the reconstruction process."

Jose Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, and Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker will attend an emergency disaster summit in Jakarta Thursday (Jan. 6). Luxembourg holds the rotating presidency of the EU for the first half of the year. The summit hosted by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will aim to coordinate global relief efforts for the victims of the tsunami.

The confirmed number of those killed by the tidal waves set off by an earthquake Dec. 26 passed 144,000 Monday. The final figure is expected to be much higher because many thousands are still missing.

EU Commissioner for development and humanitarian aid Louis Michel said before leaving for Sri Lanka Friday that the tsunami was an "unprecedented disaster both in terms of human suffering and the physical damage wrought." Sri Lanka has so far reported a death toll of 29,729.

A first decision by the EU to commit three million euros (four million dollars) was taken the day the tsunami struck. These funds to meet immediate relief needs were channelled through the International Red Cross Federation.

As the scale of the disaster became apparent, Michel sanctioned10 million euros (13.5 million dollars) Thursday – eight million euros for Sri Lanka and two million for the Maldives. These funds will support the activities of a number of European non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and UN agencies such as the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) and the Red Cross.

Pledging a further 10 million euros Friday for Indonesia, which bore the brunt of the catastrophe, Michel too said the EU could make more money available.

Michel is on a six-day visit to the region where he will meet members of local and national authorities, EU ambassadors, Red Cross doctors, UN staff and NGO workers.

Michel will present a report assessing the humanitarian situation at a special meeting of EU development and humanitarian aid ministers convened by the Luxembourg presidency Friday (Jan. 7).

EU institutions will observe a three-minute silence at midday Wednesday (Jan. 5) for the victims of the catastrophe. It is urging people across Europe to do the same.

Excerpt: