EU solidarity for tsunami-affected Aceh and North Sumatra

The scale of the tsunami disaster sparked massive sympathy and solidarity around the world. The European Union (EU) has played a leading role in that international response.

The assistance from the EU - its member states and the European Commission (EC) - to affected countries has reached 1.5 billion euros.

European Commission President Josi Manuel Barroso attended the Special ASEAN Leaders Meeting in Jakarta on Jan. 6. On that occasion he pledged 103 million euros for immediate humanitarian assistance and 350 million euros for reconstruction assistance from the European Commission.

For Indonesia only, the European Commission has already disbursed around 34 million euros in humanitarian assistance, in particular for food distribution and provision of safe water and sanitation, emergency health care and shelters.

For the reconstruction effort, the European Commission supports the government of Indonesia Multi-Donor Trust Fund (MDTF), with a contribution of 200 million euros, to repair and reinforce affected communities' infrastructure and restart the livelihoods of affected people.

As the largest single contributor and as co-chair of the MDTF steering committee, the European Commission stands ready to play an active role in coordinating policy dialog with the government. As President Barroso said during the Special ASEAN meeting in January, the European Commission will continue to stand by Indonesia as we work together to put this tragedy behind us.