The European Commission's decision to allocate another 18 million Euros (USD 26 million) on Thursday is welcome but it has to be ensured that the aid reaches the needy and not the ruling generals, an ethnic leader said.

Harn Yawnghwe, director of Euro-Burma office in Belgium, said with the deteriorating economic and political system in Burma, the EU's humanitarian aid for the people of Burma is needed more than ever.

"But it must be ensured that the aid reaches safely to the people and not the generals, otherwise it will be meaningless," Yawnghwe said.

The European Union on Thursday said the aid will be targeted for vulnerable rural people living in remote frontiers including Arakan, Shan, Mon, Karen states and Sagaing and Thanintharyi division.

Besides, the fund will also target 138,000 Burmese refugees living in camps along the Thai-Burmese border.

The European Union has been providing humanitarian aid to Burma since 1994. It has allocated more than 100 million euros to the country since 2000.