Monti satisfied with EU funding for earthquake-struck region

Italian Premier Mario Monti said on Tuesday that he was "satisfied" with the European Commission's final nod earlier in the day to release funds for earthquake assistance in Emilia-Romagna. Monti said following a meeting with British Prime Minister David Cameron in Rome that he would like to "take the opportunity to express satisfaction with the final go-ahead for EU funds to be used for work in Emilia-Romagna that we have been examining intensively over the last days". EU finance ministers in Brussels announced following an Ecofin meeting earlier Tuesday that 670 million euros in assistance for parts of Italy that were severely damaged by deadly earthquakes last spring will be released shortly.