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EU to increase budget to tackle refugee crisis after Paris attacks

Xinhua, November 17, 2015 Adjust font size:

The European Union (EU) on Monday said it plans to spend much more money in addressing the refugee crisis in 2016 in the wake of the deadly terror atrocity in Paris.

More than 4 billion euros (4.3 U.S. billion dollars) will be set aside to address the refugee crisis both in the EU and the countries where refugees come from, the European Commission (EC) said in a statement.

"We have reached an agreement on the EU budget under the shadow of a terrible tragedy in Paris," the EC's Vice President Kristalina Georgieva said in the statement. "In a tight budget, we include a significant increase to deal with the refugee crisis and more investment to create growth and jobs."

The EU move will bring total funding for the refugee crisis in 2015 and 2016 to close to 10 billion euros, the commission said.

According to the EC, the 2016 EU budget is set at 155 billion euros in commitments and 144 billion euros in payment credits.

Commitments refer to the funding that can be agreed in contracts in a given year (with some of the money only being paid in subsequent years), while payments refer to the money actually paid out in that year.

The European Council, the European Parliament and the EC have negotiated on budget since Oct. 26 and reached an agreement on Saturday, hours after the deadly terror attacks in Paris which left at least 129 dead and 352 injured.

The Council is expected to approve the budget on Nov. 24, followed by the European Parliament on Nov. 25. Endit