European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, who chairs the EU Council, are hosting a donor conference in Brussels today to raise funds and coordinate aid for the earthquake-hit regions of Turkey and Syria.

The EU executive body will provide 1 billion euros for the reconstruction of Turkey, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said today at the start of an international conference to raise funds after the devastating September 6 earthquake.^her February.

“Millions of people are now homeless and living in tents,” said the head of the commission and continued: “We need to mobilize for recovery. Homes, schools and hospitals must be rebuilt to the highest earthquake safety standards. Water supply, sewerage and other important infrastructure must be restored. Public services and businesses need capital to restart so people can earn a living.”

Ursula von der Leyen said the Commission will spend an additional 108 million euros on humanitarian aid in Syria. The EU does not have diplomatic relations with President Bashar al-Assad due to a war that has been raging since 2011.

The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) has estimated the “total economic burden of the earthquake” in Turkey at $103.6 billion.

#VIOLATION Earthquake damage in Turkey estimated at $104 billion – Erdogan pic.twitter.com/NgbCwAwVg2

— AFP News Agency (@AFP) March 20, 2023

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, for his part, said that the cost of damage caused by the February earthquakes for Turkey amounted to $104 billion.

Recall that the World Bank has estimated the cost of material damage left by the earthquake in Turkey at $34 billion, while other Turkish organizations have raised this cost to almost $85 billion.

According to APE-MPE, Reuters, AFP