Five countries to receive over €1 billion in EU aid after natural disasters

Support from the EU Solidarity Fund for Italy, Slovenia, Austria, Greece, and France following severe floods in 2023

Assistance will cover part of the costs of emergency and recovery operations

Appropriate aid from the EU should be expanded in view of the increasing number of natural disasters in Europe, MEP say

On Monday, Budget Committee MEPs approved over €1 billion in EU Solidarity Fund aid to support recovery efforts in five EU countries relating to severe floods that occurred in 2023.

The €1,028,541,689 in aid from the European Union Solidarity Fund (EUSF) will be distributed as follows:

Italy: €378.8 million for the Emilia-Romagna region following flood damages in May 2023, and an additional €67.8 million for the Tuscany region after floods in October and November 2023.

Slovenia: €428.4 million to address the consequences of the floods in August 2023.

Austria: €5.2 million to assist with flood damages from August 2023.

Greece: €101.5 million to support recovery efforts following the floods in September 2023.

France: €46.7 million 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.

Members of the Committee on Budgets express their “deepest solidarity with all the victims, their families and all the individuals affected by the destructive floods in Italy, Slovenia, Austria, Greece and France as well as with the national, regional and local authorities involved in the relief efforts”. They point to the “increasing number of severe and destructive natural disasters in Europe” and consider that the “budget of the EUSF or its equivalent should be expanded in view of the upcoming Commission proposal on the new Multiannual Financial Framework”.

The aid package was approved by 30 votes in favour, 2 votes against and 1 abstention.

More information can be found here  (Commission proposal) and in the  EP report  by rapporteur  Georgios Aftias (EPP, Greece), who recommends approving the EUSF assistance.

Next steps

The full house will vote on the assistance during the 7-10 October plenary session in Strasbourg. Once the Commission's proposal is approved by Parliament and Council, the financial aid can be disbursed without delay.

Background

Since its inception in 2002, the EUSF has mobilised over €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 Türkiye).