EU To Meet To Discuss Situation In Cyclone-Hit Myanmar

May 12, 2008 1:48 p.m. EST

Brussels, Belgium (AHN)-The European Union (EU) has scheduled an emergency meeting on Tuesday to discuss the humanitarian situation in cyclone-hit Myanmar.

:"The purpose of the meeting will be to review the situation and to beef up the response of the EU member states and the European Commission to this emergency situation," said Louis Michel, EU Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, in a statement issued Monday.

Cyclone Nargis, which hit the rice-growing Irrawaddy Delta region in Myanmar's south on May 3, has left nearly 62,000 people dead or missing, according to a government toll.

The military government's refusal to open its doors has infuriated aid groups and foreign governments who say that unless they have free access, the toll from the disaster will rise dramatically as hunger and disease set in.

Furthermore, according to Michel, "The Commission and the EU ministers will also try to identify and co-ordinate the best means of facilitating the mobilisation and delivery of international humanitarian assistance."

Tuesday's meeting of EU development ministers comes amid a deteriorating situation in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma. Michel, who used to be Belgium's foreign minister, said he will personally travel to the Asian country to discuss with the country's authorities the best way to bring international assistance to the affected population.

"It is our sincere wish to work in close co-operation with the Burmese authorities to urgently alleviate the sufferings of the Burmese people affected by the cyclone,"