BERLIN, Jan 29: The European Union on Monday announced an aid package to Afghanistan worth $775 million over the next four years.EU Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Walder said one of the main thrusts of the funding would be efforts to bolster the judiciary in Afghanistan in order to fight corruption.

She said the aim of the programme was to ensure that judges “can do in the future what we take for granted” in the West.

The EU funding would also go towards developing alternative crops to combat the narcotics industry in Afghanistan.

It was announced at a meeting of the so-called EU troika which groups German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and Portuguese Foreign Minister Luis Amado.

The meeting is being attended by Afghan Foreign Minister Rangeen Dadfar Spanta.—AFP