The European Commission has proposed to grant Cyprus 7.6 million euros (9.58 million dollars) to help the drought-stricken island country cover emergency costs, local media reported Saturday.
The financial aid from the European Union Solidarity Fund will mainly help reimburse costs such as importing water from Greece, according to Cyprus News Agency.
The eastern Mediterranean island has been suffering one of the worst droughts in decades. Decreasing rainfall has made its reservoirs only 6 percent full, forcing water authorities to cut supply to only three times a week, 12 hours per time.
The island's only two desalination plants have worked in full capacity, yet still unable to meet the demand of local people and tens of thousands of tourists.
The Greek Cypriot south has started to import water from Greece by tanks, which has agreed to sell 8 million cubic meters of water by November.
Meanwhile, the breakaway Turkish Cypriot north is pondering over an ambitious project to bring water from Turkey through an undersea pipeline.
The proposed EU financial assistance will be made available for the government-controlled south after approval by the European Parliament and Council.
The EU Solidarity Fund, created in 2002, grants aid to member states and acceding countries in the event of a major natural disaster. However, this is the first time the Commission uses the fund for emergency measures in response to a severe drought.
Source: Xinhua
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