BRUSSELS: The European Commission is proposing over pound 1 billion in financial support from the EU Solidarity Fund (EUSF) to help Italy, Slovenia, Austria, Greece and France deal with the impacts of the severe floods that hit these countries in 2023.

The aid package is allocated as follows: pound 378.8 million for Italy following the flood damages to the Emilia-Romagna region in May 2023, and an additional pound 67.8 million for the Tuscany region following the floods in October and November 2023; pound 428.4 million for Slovenia and pound 5.2 million for Austria to address the consequences of the floods in August 2023; pound 101.5 million for Greece to support recovery efforts following the floods in September 2023; and pound 46.7 million for France for flood damages caused to the Hauts-de-France region in November 2023.

The EUSF assistance will cover part of the costs of emergency and recovery operations, including repairing damaged infrastructure, safeguarding cultural heritage, and conducting clean-up
operations.

Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms Elisa Ferreira said: ‘The EU Solidarity Fund is a dedicated instrument to support Member States to recover after devastating natural disasters of major proportions, to stand in solidarity with those impacted. This aid not only provides relief and assistance for emergency costs, but also helps EU countries to better rebuild in the context of the challenges posed by climate change.’

Since its inception in 2002, the EUSF has mobilised over pound 8.6 billion for 130 disasters (110 natural disasters and 20 health emergencies) in 24 Member States (plus the UK), and four accession countries (Albania, Montenegro, Serbia and Trkiye).

Source: Emirates News Agency