EU to boost aid to Myanmar if easier access allowed
(BRUSSELS) - The European Commission could release up to 30 million euros (46 million dollars) or more in aid for Myanmar if authorities give greater access to relief teams, a senior EU official said Thursday.
"We can easily go to 30 million euros and more," EU Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Louis Michel told AFP.
With aid only trickling into the cyclone-hit country due to restricted access for relief teams, an initial two million euros that the commission already released has yet to be used up, he said.
"We have not received enough requests from UN agencies and the big NGOs that have contracts with us," Michel said. "It's not the operators' fault, it's the fault of Myanmar authorities who are not allowing access."
Michel insisted that the commission only wanted to help and did not have other objectives towards the ruling military junta.
"We simply want to put the means in place for neutral and independent humanitarian aid," he said.
With death toll estimates near 100,000 and the clock ticking for those who survived, Myanmar's junta -- long suspicious of the outside world -- is facing international pressure to fully open up to help from abroad.
Michel said that three commission experts were en route to the region hit by the cyclone after having received three-day visas, "which should be renewable."
"It seems there's been some listening but clearly it's not enough," Michel said.
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