tariffs are very low and are far from covering the costs of supply. tariff increases have to be approved by the national government. the first block of the residential tariffs, also called "social block" (tranche sociale), is charged until a consumption of 25 cubic meter per quarter, corresponding to 55 liter per capita per day for a family of five. in 2005 this tariff was 6.3 algerian dinar per cubic meter or 9 us cents in the algiers, oran and constantine zones. in 2014, this tariff remained unchanged according to the website of ade. this tariff is about 20 times lower than water tariffs in central europe. the sewer tariff is even lower than the water tariff. for residential users in the first block in the zones algiers, constantine and annaba it is 2.35 algerian dinar per cubic meter or 3 us cents. external cooperation the european union (eu), through the european commission, is an important external partner for the algerian water sector. it provided a grant of 30 million euro in 2011 to support sanitation through a program called eau ii. an earlier 20 million euro grant called eau i financed the updating of the national water plan, an operational plan for the ghrib dam, an early warning and forecasting system for floods in sidi bel abbés as well as an electronic documentation system for the ministry of water resources. in 2011 the société wallonne des eaux (swde) from belgium and ade signed a twinning contract to improve water quality monitoring. the contract had a duration of 18 months and was supported by the eu. it was followed by a second contract with a duration of three years signed in december 2013.