Measures against Muammar Gaddafi's regime in Libya are to be strengthened, European Union foreign ministers agreed on May 23 2011.

The ministers placed an additional person and an additional entity to the lists of designated persons and entities subject to travel restrictions and an assets freeze.

Names were not given, but details of the person and the entity would be published in the EU's official journal on May 24, according to a statement after the foreign ministers met.

In a separate statement on May 23, the European Commission said that it was increasing its aid to 20 million euro to continue responding to the humanitarian needs triggered by the conflict in Libya.

This brings to 70 million euro the Commission's total assistance in this crisis, the statement said.

With the new decision, the overall humanitarian contribution of the European Union to the needs of civilians affected by the conflict reaches almost 125 million euro.

The assistance boost comes a day after EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton opened an EU Office in Benghazi.

Bulgaria's Kristalina Georgieva, European Commissioner for International Co-operation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response, said: "Europe's solidarity has been in action since the outset of turmoil in Libya. The EU will continue relentlessly to relieve the plight of the affected men, women and children."

Georgieva said: "While we have repatriated and brought humanitarian relief to many thousands of people, our greatest challenge is still to gain access to the areas closed off from the humanitarian community. Humanitarian access to Misrata has gradually improved, but I worry about the civilians in the Nafusa mountains, where they are caught in heavy fighting. I appeal to all parties to let humanitarian workers access the people there."

The new aid decision adds 20 million euro to the 40million euro already disbursed from the Commission's humanitarian aid instrument.

A further 10 million euro has been allocated from the civil protection instrument. The extra funding will be used to assist and protect the Libyan population affected by the fighting and vulnerable groups such as internally displaced persons (IDP's), third country nationals and Libyan refugees in neighbouring countries.

Further, the aid decision will boost the Commission's support for the repatriation and evacuation of third country nationals, and will provide shelter, food assistance, water, sanitation, emergency health care, protection, demining, and co-ordination support, the European Commission said.