The disbursement of more than 1 billion euros from the EU Solidarity Fund to support the recovery efforts in five countries from the severe floods of 2023, the European Parliament approved, voting in favor of the proposal of the ND MEP, Giorgos Autias.

In Greece, €101.5 million will be given to support recovery efforts after the September 2023 floods.

The approval of the aid amounting to 1,028,541,689 euros from the European Union Solidarity Fund (EUSF) was overwhelmingly voted a little while ago in the plenary session of the European Parliament with 632 votes in favor, 7 against and 3 abstentions.

The rapporteur of the report, ND MEP, Giorgos Autias, describes the majority with which (his report) was approved as a “record”, while speaking at the Plenary of the European Parliament he made a special reference to Greece and the natural disasters and argued that “we must make the most of all the funds provided by both the European Solidarity Fund and the European Regional Development Fund”.

At the same time, he pointed out that “these amounts should not be offset against other European aid”, while underlining “the need for targeted and coordinated action”, that is, as he said, “to collectively support European and national policies for the prevention of natural disasters, investing in effective synergies with policies and programs of the Union”.

Also, according to the official announcement of the European Parliament, the European aid will be distributed as follows:

– Greece: 101.5 million to support recovery efforts after the September 2023 floods

– Italy: 378.8 million for the Emilia-Romagna region after the May floods and an additional 67.8 million for the Tuscany region after the October and November 2023 floods

– Slovenia: 428.4 million to deal with the consequences of the August 2023 floods

– Austria: 5.2 million to deal with flood damage in August 2023

– France: 46.7 million for the floods caused in the Hauts-de-France region in November 2023.

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

The statement also states that “the members of the Committee on Budgets express their deepest solidarity with all the victims, their families and all those affected by the catastrophic floods in Italy, Slovenia, Austria, Greece and France, as and to national, regional and local authorities involved in relief efforts. They point to the increasing number of serious natural disasters in Europe and consider that the allocation of European resources in this direction should be expanded in view of the Commission’s upcoming proposal for the new multiannual financial framework.

It is recalled that since its creation in 2002, the EFSI has mobilized over €8.6 billion for 130 disasters (110 natural disasters and 20 health emergencies) in 24 Member States plus the United Kingdom, as well as in four acceding countries (Albania, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey).