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afrol News, 27 June - Eritrean President, Isaias Afwerki, visits Brussels today where he will meet EU President Prodi and the Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid Mr Poul Nielson. Together, they will review progress of the peace agreement between Eritrea and Ethiopia. Yesterday, the European Commission mobilised euro 7 million (US$ 6 million) in humanitarian aid for Eritrea. Afwerki and his EU counterparts are also set to discuss the current situation in the Horn of Africa. The meeting will also cover aspects of the current and future relationship between the Commission and Eritrea, according to an EU statement. Prospects of enhanced co-operation will figure highly on the agenda. Although the border war between Ethiopia and Eritrea is over, the effects are still being felt in Eritrea. There are still an estimated 300,000 displaced persons, a vast number of whom are unable to be resettled due to the risks posed by landmines in the area. Given the troublesome recent history of Eritrea, its relations with the EU are focused on development cooperation and emergency aid. Afwerki's visit marks a deepening of these relations. Since independence in 1993 when Eritrea joined the Lomé IV Convention, €184 million (US$ 175 million) has been committed by the European Commission in development aid. Funds from the European Development Fund (EDF) have been mainly used for rehabilitation requirements following the prolonged war of independence, a EU communiqué states. Recent aid has been directed towards supporting the Emergency Reconstruction Programme (ERP) adopted after the end of the armed conflict with Ethiopia. Projects are being financed principally in the fields of food security, education and health. According to an EU assessment, "the particular needs of internally displaced people and drought stricken populations are also being addressed, as is the question of soldiers who are to be demobilised and reintegrated." In January 2001, the Commission approved a new food aid programme of €15 million for Eritrea. "An EC contribution to a Demobilisation and Reintegration Programme for about 200.000 soldiers is under discussion," according to the EU statement. In parallel, the Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO), which provided €8 million last year to help victims of the war in Eritrea, recently adopted an intervention plan for a further €7 million. The funds will be used, among other things to help displaced people return home, to support those still living in camps and to alert the population to the risk of anti-personnel mines and to put into place nutritional surveillance for the drought stricken areas. The new €7 million funding by the humanitarian aid office (ECHO), approved yesterday, will mainly cover areas such as health and the provision of drinking water and shelters, the agency informs. - Since general food distributions are already being covered, the ECHO aid will be used to support programmes in sectors such as water and products other than food targeted at people in the camps, and assistance to resettle displaced persons, a EU communiqué stated. "It will also finance the demarcation of minefields and awareness-raising among communities of the dangers of mines." Source: Based on EU sources and
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