EU proposes Italy earthquake aid

Italy estimates the cost of repairing the damage will be 10bn euros

The European Commission has proposed giving 494m euros (£425m; $703m) in aid to Italy to help with the aftermath of the earthquake in L'Aquila.

The aid would be the largest ever payout from the EU's solidarity fund.

Tens of thousands of people have been living in temporary accommodation since the 6.3-magnitude earthquake on 6 April, which killed nearly 300 people.

The aid, which has to be approved by EU member states, is aimed at rebuilding infrastructure and temporary housing.

It cannot be used to compensate people for the loss of private property.

A Commission spokesman said the use of the money would be very carefully monitored.

The scale of the earthquake, whose consequences continue to be borne by the local population, justifies commensurate support from the EU Pawel Samecki, European Commissioner for Regional Policy

After previous earthquakes in southern Italy, only a fraction of reconstruction aid reached the victims, amid allegations of corruption and Mafia interference, says the BBC's Oana Lungescu in Brussels.

Roberto Saviano, the best-selling author of a book about organised crime, Gomorrah, recently warned that the flood of aid into L'Aquila and the surrounding region would be a prime target for the Mafia.

But the Commissioner for Regional Policy, Pawel Samecki, said the "scale of the earthquake, whose consequences continue to be borne by the local population, justifies commensurate support from the EU".

The Italian government applied for aid from the solidarity fund, which allows member states to draw emergency aid for major natural disasters from the EU budget, in early June. It estimates that the cost of repairing the damage will be 10bn euros ($14.2bn).

Italy is also eligible for over 70m euros ($100m) from other EU programmes to kick-start the regional economy and rebuild the historic centre of L'Aquila.