(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — The European Union offered $180 million euros on Thursday to help Lebanon and Jordan cope with the massive influx of Syrian refugees.
The European Commission said the aid package would help deal with the longer-term problems of the 1.1 million refugees in Lebanon and 630,000 in Jordan.
Some of the funds will also go to Syria itself where the conflict has displaced around half of the population, nearly 11 million people.
Lebanon, a country of just over four million inhabitants, is struggling to shelter 1.5 million Syrian refugees.
“They are sharing our water, electricity, schools and hospitals with us,” said Lebanese prime minister Tammam Salam. “The country was not programmed for this. It was barely programmed to handle its own needs.”
Salam was in the European Parliament on December 2 to discuss his country’s most pressing issues, including efforts to deal with the spill-over of the conflict in Syria.
Salam met European Parliament President Martin Schulz, who he described as “very supportive and enthusiastic about helping Lebanon.”
The $180 million package “addresses in particular the education of children and young adults… as well as measures to improve the resilience of the refugees as well as the communities hosting them through economic development activities,” a Commission statement said.
The EU is a major humanitarian aid donor in the region. It has provided about 1.5 billion euros since the conflict erupted in 2011 while the 28 member states have separately provided about 1.4 billion euros, according to Commission figures.
“We are ready and willing to bring a continued support to the people of Syria and to the neighboring countries hosting Syrian refugees,” EU foreign affairs head Federica Mogherini said. “We are determined to play our role to the full and bring a lasting political solution to this regional crisis.”