Rice: US will welcome Katrina aid from foes

Date: 08/09/05

The US made an official request on Sunday (4 September) for EU help with the relief operation for victims of hurricane Katrina.

This followed a barrage of complaints from New Orleans residents that the US authorities - both at Louisiana state and at federal level - had been lax and ineffective in responding to the disaster.

So far 21 of the Union's countries, as well as budding EU entrant Romania, have made offers of help.

Cargo aircraft - primarily from Italy, France, Germany and Britain - have already arrived in the US, carrying food destined for the victims.

Examples of aid offered include: two cruise ships from Greece, water purification units from Denmark, a team of divers from Belgium, blankets from Latvia, two teams of medical personnel from Romania and camp-beds from Austria.

The EU's assistance is being co-ordinated by the European Commission's monitoring and information centre.

Stavros Dimas, the environment commissioner, said that "by pooling civil protection resources of member states, we are able to provide a common response that is more effective than any member state can deliver on its own". The Commission said it would set up an EU field co-ordinator to oversee delivery of the aid.

Condoleezza Rice, the American secretary of state, has said that no offer of help will be refused, even though Cuba and Venezuela, two countries to which the Bush administration is hostile, have pledged aid.

Article reports on international aid to the United States in the wake of the hurricane disaster in the US gulf states on 29 August 2005. 21 EU Member States plus Romania offered help which was to be co-ordinated by the European Commission's Monitoring and Information Centre. Cuba and Venezuela, two countries to which the Bush administration is hostile, also offered their support.