Speaking in Luxembourg, Foreign Minister Carl Bildt of Sweden, which holds the rotating EU presidency, announced the bloc would step up its support, including its civilian aid, which currently totals about $1.5 billion per year.
VOA: standard.2009.10.27
Support was maintained through consecutive mass meetings rotating from church to church around the city.
France, which hands over the rotating EU presidency to the Czech Republic in January, needs to win the Eastern states' support ahead of an EU summit on 11-12 December.