EU allocates €400M in further aid to Syria

After suspending the arms embargo placed on Syria due to the tireless efforts of Britain through its foreign secretary, William Hague in order to pressure Assad to 'negotiate seriously', the EU is now sending additional finance to Syria and its neighbours.

The EU will send €400 million ($523 million) in additional aid to Syria and its neighbours, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said on Thursday. The non-humanitarian aid comprises budgetary support for states neighboring Syria, which have struggled to cope with a huge influx of refugees, Reuters said.

The EU is already the biggest humanitarian donor in the Syrian crisis, committing more than €840 million to alleviate what Barroso called “the most dramatic humanitarian situation in the last decade.” He said unrestricted and unconditional humanitarian access is needed in Syria, as well as an inclusive transitional government.

The EU has so far restrained itself from interfering in the Syrian crisis, preferring rather to lend its voice on the need to avoid escalation that would lead to catastrophe.

Cyber Rules on the Rise in Europe and the US

Cyber warfare, crime and security is assuming a muscular dimension in the world. Different rules flow from the United States down to Europe. The war seems to have been taken to the media and financial institutions fully.

 

New York Times, Bloomberg News and Associated Press have all complained of cyber attacks especially from China. The US rules of engagement on cyberattack tilts towards military response.

 

On the part of the EU, over 40,000 firms, including energy providers, banks and hospitals could be required to report cyber-break-ins under new rules proposed by the EU.

It is part of a move to intensify global efforts to fight cybercrime.

Digital agenda commissioner Neelie Kroes said that Europe needed to improve how it dealt with cybersecurity.

But firms are concerned that reporting online attacks and security breaches might damage their reputations.

The EU is keen that member states share information about attacks and shore up their cyber-defences.

Under the proposals, each country would have to appoint a Computer Emergency Response Team and create an authority to whom companies would report breaches.

These new bodies would decide whether to make the breaches public and whether to fine companies.

Announcing the changes, Ms Kroes said: "Europe needs resilient networks and systems and failing to act would would impose significant costs on consumers, businesses and society."

According to the EU, only one in four European companies has a regularly-reviewed, formal ICT security policy. Even among ICT companies, the figure is only one in two, it said.

A recent study by accountants PwC suggested that three quarters of UK small businesses, and 93% of large ones, had recently suffered a cybersecurity breach.