EU releases 33 million euros emergency aid for Beirut blast

BRUSSELS: The European Union announced Thursday that it had released 33 million euros to finance emergency aid for Lebanon and mobilised material resources, including an Italian hospital ship, to help relief efforts in Beirut after this week's devastating explosions.

A donor conference is also planned to mobilise additional funding for reconstruction after an assessment of what is required, said a EU source.

The release of the 33 million euros ($39 million) should make it possible to cover the immediate needs of the emergency services and hospitals in the capital, said the European Commission.

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen spoke by phone with Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab on Thursday to talk about European Union assistance.

In a letter to the 27 EU members released on Thursday evening, von der Leyen and Charles Michel, President of the European Council, called on member states to "contribute to the road to recovery that lies ahead".

"We... invite you to intensify your support to Lebanon both on the immediate needs, but also with a view to the longer-term reconstruction of the country," the leaders wrote.

"In order to ensure efficiency and swift delivery, we stand ready to ensure the synergy of the aid that you and the EU as a whole will provide to Lebanon, through a coordination mechanism that the EU institutions will put in place."

They reminded the 27 member states of the "strong partnership" between the EU and Lebanon, "a country of strategic importance which hosts the largest number of refugees per capita".

"We have a common interest in acting now to limit the fall-out of this tragedy," they said.

European countries have mobilised quickly with the Italian navy making available a ship with helicopter medical evacuation capability and a flight containing 8.5 tonnes of medical equipment.

"We are at the side of the Lebanese people and we will work in the coming days to give them the greatest possible support," said Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio on Thursday.

"What happened... is a tragedy that has struck the Lebanese people, and from our point of view helping a friendly country like Lebanon also means stopping a process of destabilisation and instability which risks having an effect on migration."

Di Maio said Italy had sent "firemen, soldiers, specialists... and eight tonnes of medical aid".