Jan. 26 (Bloomberg) -- European Union governments expanded sanctions aimed at the Zimbabwe government, accusing President Robert Mugabe of ignoring the plight of his people amid economic collapse and the outbreak of a cholera epidemic.

Twenty-seven people and 36 companies or groups were added to a list that now contains 243 entities subject to financial sanctions and an EU travel ban. Those on the list are “actively associated with the violence or human rights infringements of the regime,” the EU said in a statement.

“We continue to be absolutely resolute in supporting the people of Zimbabwe in their call for change,” U.K. Foreign Secretary David Miliband told reporters in Brussels today at a meeting of the 27 EU foreign ministers.

Zimbabwe has undergone a decade of recession under Mugabe, who has been in power since 1980, while almost a half of the population needs emergency food aid. The southern African nation has been in political limbo since Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai failed last year to set up a power-sharing government amid disagreement over the allocation of key posts.

The United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said yesterday it needs $550 million for Zimbabwe this year to help boost food security and improve water, health and education services. A collapse in the country’s water systems has exacerbated a cholera outbreak that’s killed more than 2,700 people and infected over 50,000, according to the UN.

Leaders from South Africa, Swaziland, Angola and Mozambique met today to discuss the political crisis in Zimbabwe.

Eighteen U.K.-based companies were put on the EU list, the first time European companies have been sanctioned for dealings with Zimbabwe. EU companies on the list will have their assets frozen. The full list won’t be published until tomorrow.

To contact the reporters on this story: Patrick Donahue in Brussels at pdonahue1@bloomberg.net; James G. Neuger in Brussels at jneuger@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: January 26, 2009 06:15 EST