EU to provide aid to Arab Spring countries

The European Union could spend an additional $8.2 billion in coming years to help neighboring Arab countries recover from political unrest, EU officials said. European Commission members Stefan Fuele and Andris Pieblags said Brussels has proposed spending $82 billion on foreign policy from 2014 to 2020. Of that total, $24 billion would be used to promote reforms in 16 neighboring non-EU countries, the EUobserver reported Thursday. That figure represents an $8.2 billion increase from the last seven years. Fuele called the budget increase "a direct answer to the revolutionary movements to the south of the European Union ... to ensure the success of the transformation process and to improve social and economic development." A commission official told the EUobserver the majority of the funds would go to help Arab countries such as Egypt and Libya following the turmoil of the Arab Spring.