EFE. — The European Commission plans to allocate up to €20 million in additional humanitarian aid to Venezuela following the twin earthquakes that struck the country on June 24. The latest official figures report 4,734 deaths and 16,740 injuries.
The European Union’s executive body announced on Wednesday that it will allocate the first €10 million to assist the communities hardest hit by the earthquakes. The remaining €10 million, pending approval by the Budgetary Authority, will support search-and-rescue operations and medical teams.
European Commissioner for Preparedness and Crisis Management Hadja Lahbib said the new funding will help provide food, clean drinking water, medicine, and shelter to affected families.
“Venezuela may lie across the ocean, but the Venezuelan people remain very close to our hearts. Since the first hours after the earthquakes, the European Union has stood by them,” Lahbib said in a statement.
The new funding comes in addition to the €5 million approved in late June and the €52 million the Commission allocated earlier this year to address the humanitarian consequences of Venezuela’s socioeconomic crisis.
The Commission also noted that two EU-funded humanitarian air bridge flights have already delivered nearly 80 tons of essential supplies since the program began in June.
In addition, the EU Civil Protection Mechanism has deployed nearly 750 professionals and experts, along with rescue teams, medical supplies, and shelters from 18 countries, as well as a satellite telecommunications platform.
The announcement coincides with Commissioner Lahbib’s visit to Venezuela. On Thursday, she will travel to Caracas to meet with EU-funded partners, local authorities, and one of the European medical teams currently working in the country.
