Declaration by the Presidency on behalf of the European Union on the floods in Ethiopia

Press release 312/2006
24 August, 2006

The EU sends its deep condolences to the Government and People of Ethiopia for the floods that have so severely hit and still threaten parts of Ethiopia.

The EU regrets that several hundreds of people have been killed by the floods, hundreds are still missing and tens of thousands of people are displaced, particularly in the eastern town of Dire Dawa and its surrounding areas as well as Southern Omo Valley which have been affected most by the severe flooding.

The EU expresses its deep concern for the consequences of the floods that have left thousands of Ethiopians without shelter and food. The population in these areas is now also threatened by acute watery diarrhoea and other severe diseases.

The EU wishes to express its readiness to help Ethiopia recover from the humanitarian crisis caused by the floods, which count as the worst flooding in the recent history of the country.

The Acceding Countries Bulgaria and Romania, the Candidate Countries Turkey, Croatia* and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia*, the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, and the EFTA countries Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, as well as Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova align themselves with this declaration.

* Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.