Brussels, 10/03/2014 (Agence Europe) - It is believed that the Council and the European Parliament have reached a consensus on the new outlines of the reform of the Solidarity Fund of the European Union (EUSF), aid to European regions which have experienced natural disasters. A pre-agreement is believed to have been reached late last week in inter-institutional trialogue. It will be confirmed by Coreper on 12 March, and on 19 March by the MEPs of the parliamentary committee on regional development.
What will be the new face of the EUSF? Member states where regions have been hit by flooding, drought or earthquake, for example, will be able to request support from Europe if the damage caused exceeds 1.5% of the GDP of the region in question. The intervention threshold proposed by the Commission has been respected, but an exemption of 1% for extremely remote regions has been added. An aid application dossier must be submitted within 12 weeks following the disaster. The Commission must respond to this within the following six weeks. This timetable aims to speed up access to funding for the areas concerned. It is already possible for advance payments of up to €50 million to be paid before the European Commission has made its final decision. The concept of advance payments proposed by the Commission has therefore been kept in place, but the suggested amount - €30 million - has been increased. (MD)