The Commission proposes €293.5 million under the EU Solidarity Fund for Austria, Italy and Romania following natural disasters that occurred in 2018. The Commission also publishes a report evaluating the work of the Fund since its creation in 2002 and providing recommendations for the future.
The €293.5 million is broken down as follows: €277.2 million for Italy following heavy rains, strong winds, floods and landslides in the autumn of 2018, €8.1 million for Austria following the same meteorological events and €8.2 million for the North East region in Romania after the summer 2018 floods.
Commissioner for Regional Policy Corina Creţu said: “Last week in Sibiu we committed to stay united, through thick and thin, to show each other solidarity in times of need and to always stand together. The EU Solidarity Fund is a concrete expression of European solidarity. It offers relief to countries and regions after natural disasters and helps populations get back on their feet. Today we are lending a helping hand to Austria, Italy and Romania and reflecting on how to make the EU Solidarity Fund an even more helpful tool in the next long-term EU budget.”
The evaluation underlines the high added value of the Fund to support emergency and recovery efforts and to alleviate the financial burden on national and regional authorities. The Fund has provided more than €2 billion of support since the beginning of the Juncker Commission, including a record-high €1.2 billion for the 2016/2017 earthquakes in Central Italy, and €5.2 billion overall since 2002.
Original source: European Commission
Published on 15 May 2019
