Brussels, 20 December 2024
The EU Commission paid an amount of €392.2 million from the EU Solidarity Fund (EUSF) to help Italy, France and Austria recover from the damage caused by last year’s devastating floods.
€351.9 million were paid to Italy for the floods in the Emilia-Romagna (May 2023) and Tuscany regions (October and November 2023), €35 million to France for the floods in Nord-Pas-de-Calais (November 2023) and €5.2 million to Austria for the floods in the south (August 2023).
Supporting the reconstruction in Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany
The Commission paid €284.1 million to Emilia-Romagna, which comes on top of the €94.7 million that were already paid to Italy as an advance payment in November 2023. This brings the total EU support for the region to €378.8 million.The floods in Emilia-Romagna had severe consequences, claiming 14 lives, and causing significant destruction of infrastructures and public and private assets. Over 1,500 landslides damaged roads, buildings, and key infrastructure such as water systems and transport networks.Tuscany received €67.8 million to remedy the consequences of a regional flooding disaster that affected particularly the provinces of Prato, Florence, Pisa, Pistoia, and Livorno. The heavy rainfall resulted in seven fatalities, forced thousands of residents to leave their homes, and caused substantial economic losses.Today’s disbursements, added to last year’s advance payments, bring the EUSF support to Italy linked to these natural disasters to €446.6 million.
Helping France and Austria to rebuild after floods
The Commission also paid €35 million to France to support the reconstruction following the floods in Nord-Pas-de-Calais, which comes on top of the €11.7 million that were already paid as an advance payment in June 2024. This brings the total EUSF support to France to €46.7 million.The region was hit by heavy rainfall that led to the overflow of major rivers. The flooding and mudslides resulted in the closure of several roads, caused considerable economic damage and forced thousands to leave their homes.Lastly, €5.2 million were paid to Austria to recover from the damage to public and private infrastructure caused by heavy storms in the south in August 2023, particularly in Lower Carinthia and Styria. More than 120 communities were impacted, including with power outages due to high groundwaters.
What EUSF can be used for
In all the cases, the EUSF assistance can be used to cover part of the costs of emergency operations: protection of cultural heritage, restoration of key infrastructure (energy, water, wastewater, telecoms, transport, health, and education), cleaning up of the disaster-stricken areas as well as temporary accommodation and rescue services. The emergency and recovery operations may be financed by the EUSF retroactively from day one of the disaster.
Background
The EU Solidarity Fund (EUSF) is one of the main EU instruments for post-disaster recovery and a tangible expression of EU solidarity. It supports Member States and accession countries by offering a financial contribution after severe disasters and, since 2020, major health emergencies.Since its establishment in 2002, the EUSF has mobilised over €8.6 billion in 130 disasters (110 disasters and 20 health emergencies) in 24 Member States (plus the UK), and four accession countries (Albania, Montenegro, Serbia, and Türkiye).The EUSF is a special instrument of solidarity that is mobilised upon applications of eligible countries and the assessment of their eligibility. The emergency and recovery operations may be financed by the EUSF retroactively from day one of the disaster.On Wednesday, the Parliament also adopted the RESTORE proposal which allows Member States to complement the EUSF support for the recovery after a climate related disaster with resources from Cohesion Policy funds. Member States can benefit from a 95% EU co-financing rate and a pre-financing of 25% for measures supporting the recovery. RESTORE will soon be published in the Official Journal of the European Union and can then be used by Member States.
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Climate related disasters are increasingly disrupting the lives and the economy of Europe’s citizens, regions, and cities. Reconstruction represents a huge challenge to our communities as well as to national and regional budgets. The EU Solidarity Fund is a concrete demonstration of European solidarity with citizens and regions by helping them in these recovery and rebuilding efforts.
Raffaele Fitto, Executive Vice-President for Cohesion and Reforms
Source – EU Commission