European Union (EU) has agreed to give a sum of $619 million ( 580 million euros) to Syria in aid in the year 2018, an official said. The decision was made during an international conference on the future of Syria.
Federica Mogherini, the high representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said that the money would be used to assist Lebanon and Jordan, who have taken in thousands of fleeing refugees from the war-affected areas in Syria, according to Efe news.
"What is vital is that humanitarian funding, this humanitarian funding, turns into humanitarian action," she said during the two-day conference titled 'Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region' held in Brussels.
Mogherini said that aid workers in Syria and complete humanitarian access to all of the affected nation was absolutely necessary for the pledged funding to be of real assistance for Syrians.
The EU high representative also added that the EU will maintain the same level of financial aid in the year 2019. She also added that the European bloc was the primary humanitarian aid donor to Syria and the refugee hosting countries.
Mogherini said that the EU was promoting economic and job growth in Lebanon and Jordan, as well as for Syrians taking refuge in the region, to avoid a conflict between refugees and their host communities.
"I think we have to be very clear about the fact that we are supporting the Syrians and we are supporting them as they hope to build the future of their country," she said. "We will look forward to 2018 and 2019 to ensure we can provide some continuity and predictability to the humanitarian support we give to Syrians," Mogherini added.
The senior EU official also stated that the aid, which had been pledged by the bloc in 2016 to Syria has been delivered. However, she added that it was now imperative to analyse what progress has been made with the help of the EU fund in the affected region.
