EU pledges €650m to Somalia

The European Union (EU) pledged an additional 650 million euros (864.5 million U.S. dollars) on Monday to back Somalia's reconstruction plan. "Somalia has made important progress this year...Somalia now needs to focus on peace building and development," European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said after meeting with Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud in Brussels. "Today I am proud to pledge an additional 650 million euros to support this new phase in the life of Somalia," Barroso said, adding the bloc has provided a total of 1.2 billion euros to Somalia since 2008. Somali government and its international partners are meeting on Monday in Brussels to endorse a "New Deal" compact, which is designed to bolster security and promote political and economic reconstruction in the country. Though no targets for the donations were announced before the conference, EU officials hope that international donors will pledge over a billion euros.