China News Service, Brussels, February 27 (Reporter De Yongjian) The European Union announced on the 26th the opening of the "Air Corridor", which will airlift more than 400 tons of relief materials to Syria, which was hit hard by the earthquake.
According to the announcement issued by the European Commission, two cargo planes dispatched by the European Union landed in the Syrian capital Damascus on the same day, carrying supplies including cold-proof tents, emergency shelters, heaters, etc.
The announcement stated that the EU will organize more cargo planes to fly to Syria in the future. Overall, the EU plans to airlift 420 tons of relief materials to Syria, of which 225 tons are EU-owned materials, with a total value of about 1.1 million euros.
The announcement shows that since Syria requested the EU to activate the civil defense mechanism to assist in disaster relief on February 8, the EU has provided an additional 3.9 million euros in humanitarian assistance to Syria. A total of 14 EU member states and Norway, a member of the EU civil defense mechanism, have provided disaster relief materials to Syria. , including tents, emergency shelters, medicines, food, generators, medical equipment, hygiene supplies, etc.
In the earthquake-stricken area of Turkey, the announcement shows that the EU has added 5.7 million euros in humanitarian assistance. A total of 20 EU member states have provided relief materials to Turkey, and 5 from Belgium, France, Italy, Spain and Albania, a member of the EU Civil Defense Mechanism. A medical team is helping to treat the affected people.
In addition to humanitarian aid, the European Union has previously notified that an international pledging conference will be held in Brussels on March 16 to raise funds to assist Turkey and Syria in disaster relief. The meeting will also assess the EU's aid situation, and EU member states will study and judge the relief needs of Turkey and Syria and resolve bottlenecks question.
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