Brussels, April 9 (CNA) The European Union's Commission for Crisis Management on Thursday announced the receipt of surgical face masks donated by Taiwan, and thanked Taiwan for its "gesture of solidarity" in the fight against the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

"In these difficult times, international cooperation is crucial. We highly appreciate Taiwan's gesture of solidarity with its donation of medical masks to the European Union," Commissioner Janez Lenarčič said in a press release.

One million of the masks, which were provided as a direct donation to the EU, are being transferred to Spain and Italy, while the remaining masks are being delivered through bilateral channels to other EU member states, Lenarčič said.

On April 1, President Tsai Ing-wen announced that Taiwan would donate 10 million surgical face masks to its international partners. The donation allocated 2 million masks to the United States, 7 million to European countries and 1 million to Taiwan's diplomatic allies, according to Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA).

Of the European donations, masks donated to the Netherlands -- 600,000, according to the Netherlands Trade and Investment Office (NTIO) -- arrived on Tuesday, while the remainder were shipped late Wednesday and early Thursday to eight other EU member states, as well as the Holy See, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, MOFA said.

On Thursday, MOFA announced a second donation of 6 million masks, which will be allocated to countries hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe, the Americas, and Southeast Asia, though an exact breakdown of the recipient countries and masks allocated has not yet been announced.

Europe has been hit by a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases in recent weeks, with Spain, Italy, France and Germany all reporting more than 100,000 cases as of Thursday. Italy has recorded a world-leading 18,279 deaths from the disease, followed by Spain with 15,477 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.