Brussels promises to help Turkey in the long term in the reconstruction

BRUSELAS, 22 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The European Commission has indicated this Wednesday its long-term commitment to Turkey to help rebuild the country after the devastating earthquake on February 6 that has claimed the lives of more than 40,000 people in Turkey and Syria.

"The Commission stands ready to do everything in its power to help rebuild homes, hospitals, day care centers and schools so that normal life can return to these regions. This will take time and be expensive but now it is It is essential that we move forward as soon as possible", assured the Commissioner for Enlargement and the Neighborhood, Oliver Varhelyi, at a press conference from Ankara, where he traveled with the Swedish Minister for International Development, Johan Forssell.

Varhelyi has pointed out that the situation that Turkey is going through requires "global action", a point at which he has pointed to the donor conference that the EU is organizing in March to mobilize funds in the international community to help alleviate the consequences of the catastrophe .

Asked if the closeness between the EU and Turkey due to the earthquake could lead to a general improvement in relations, he assured that this Wednesday's visit with the Swedish minister is a "testimony" of the good relations that Brussels intends to have with " a friend and ally."

"If a relationship and a strengthened friendship come out of this, it is welcome," said the Hungarian commissioner. The trip comes after the earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale two weeks ago that caused enormous damage in Turkey and Syria and has so far claimed the lives of more than 41,000 people, in what the Turkish authorities they qualified as the worst disaster in the last century.