EU to provide 540 million dollars for peace deal on Darfur

On July 1, the Netherlands took over the rotating presidency of the European Union. On January 1, they handed the reins to neighbor Luxembourg. On a per capita basis, the Netherlands contributes the most to Brussels' coffers. Dutch Foreign Minister Bernard Bot threatened the Sudanese government with sanctions if it didn't stop the violence in Darfur. But he had to back down after the EU was unable to agree on a common position.

On Sunday, The EU said it was ready to unblock financial aid if progress was made in Darfur. The Commission said it was ready to provide financial aid worth more than 400 million euros (540 million dollars) over the next three years to Sudan. "This process will, however, depend on the additional efforts to be made by all parties in order to improve the situation in the Darfur," the E.U. head office said in a statement.

Despite the freeze on development aid, the E.U. commission has continued to provide emergency humanitarian relief to Sudan, at around EUR160 million a year.