Brussels - The European Union remains concerned by the difficulties which aid organizations face in entering Myanmar in the wake of the weekend's devastating cyclone, officials said Thursday.

"Access remains one of our biggest concerns - access of humanitarian workers, access of aid. Aid pledges are increasing, but what is important now is to have the material deliveries of aid," a spokesman for the EU's executive, the European Commission, said.

"Promises do not save lives. Those who save lives are those humanitarian workers who know what to do in such a situation," he said.

On Friday and Saturday, Cyclone Nargis tore through Myanmar, devastating low-lying and coastal areas and killing tens of thousands.

Myanmar's normally reclusive military regime was quick to ask for international aid, in a move praised abroad as a rare show of openness.

"There are encouraging signs, but still a few of them, not too many," the commission spokesman said, citing Myanmar's decision to admit three commission experts and a UN supply flight as examples.

But other humanitarian agencies complain that the authorities are simply not letting them into the country fast enough.

"We expect that this (granting access to the country) is extended to other humanitarian actors. Of course the UN has the central role of coordinating the efforts, but other humanitarian players should be able to deliver aid," the EU spokesman said.

He admitted that Europe could apply little pressure other than diplomatically, saying "we cannot force the entry of humanitarian aid, so it's a diplomatic joint effort which can be done." (dpa)