The European Commission on Wednesday said it had earmarked 278 million euros in aid for victims of last December's Asian tsunami as part of an earlier pledge to send more assistance to countries in the region, reported dpa. The Commission - the E.U.'s executive arm - said the new package followed a promise made earlier this year to earmark 473 million euros in 2005 and 2006 to help tsunami-affected countries. The pledge was divided into 123 million euro for humanitarian aid in 2005 and 350 million euro for reconstruction support in 2005 and 2006, officials said. An estimated 98 million euros will be fresh money but the Commission said some of the additional funds were being taken from the budget earmarked for Asia. Indonesia, Sri Lanka and the Maldives are expected to be beneficiaries of the aid. The Commission proposals still need to approved by the European Parliament and E.U. governments.
