EU Announces Flood Assistance for Uttarakhand, Himachal

The European Union (EU) on 13 September 2023 announced that it will provide an emergency humanitarian assistance of euro 100,000 (nearly 90 lakh Indian rupees) to flood hit families of Himachal Pradesh and Utttrakhand .

Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand saw severe flooding and landslides due to torrential rains in August 2023. The torrential rains caused widespread damage in these states affecting more than 1.5 lakh people . The European Union assistance is expected to benefit 40,000 people in the state of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.

EU funding to be through Red Cross Society 

The European Union will provide the fund to the  Indian Red Cross Society which is a member of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

It will be used to deliver emergency shelter and household items, including tarpaulins, kitchen sets, woollen blankets, and hygiene kits. Health and hygiene awareness campaigns will also be carried out to prevent the spread of communicable diseases.

The European Union is signatory to a €10 million humanitarian delegation agreement with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) to support the Federation's Disaster Response Emergency Fund (DREF). Funds from the DREF are mainly allocated to small-scale disasters .

International Committee of the Red Cross

• The International Committee of the Red Cross  is a humanitarian organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland. 
• Jean Henri Dunant of Switzerland is given credit for the foundation of the International Red Cross.
• In 1863 he founded the International Committee for the Relief of the Wounded. 
• In 1875 this organisation was renamed as  the International Committee of the Red Cross.
• Jean Henri Dunant was the first recipient of the Nobel peace prize in 1901 along with  Fredric Passey of France.
• The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has won three nobel  peace prizes in 1917,1944,and 1963. 
• It is the only institution which has won three nobel peace prizes in the world . 

European Union 

The European Union is an International organisation consisting of 27 European countries .

The European Union was created by the Maastricht Treaty 1992. The European Union came into being on  November 1, 1993. 

President of the European Commission  : Ursula von der Leyen

Headquarters : Brussels ,Belgium

Member countries : 27 

EURO ZONE 

It refers to those 20 European countries of the European Union which have abolished their national currency and adopted Euro as their common currency . Croatia became the 20th country to join it in January 2023.

Euro as a common monetary unit was introduced on 1 January 1999.

Member countries of EuroZone:  Belgium, Germany, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal and Finland,Slovenia , Croatia ,Cyprus, Malta,  Slovakia, Estonia , Latvia, Lithuania.