According to a source consulted on Friday 27 July, the Commissioner for Regional Policy, Corina Cretu, is said to have informed Alexis Charitsis, the Greek Alternate Minister of the Economy and Development, that the first payment of the European Union Solidarity Fund (EUSF) would be made “as soon as possible”. The Commissioner also proposed recasting the Cohesion Policy programme to help Greece cope with the damages caused by the forest fires.
The Commissioner's response follows a letter sent by the Greek minister in which the latter calls on the Commission to amend the EUSF, simplify its procedures and speed up payments. The Commissioner replied that she wanted to proceed to the first payment “as soon as possible”, once the request from the member state to activate the fund has been received.
According to the information we have received, Commissioner Crețu indicated that she was prepared to modify the programmes as part of Cohesion Policy if the Greek authorities so request, in an effort to revive economic activity in the zones affected. She also indicated that the member state would be able to benefit from, subject to certain conditions, a co-financing rate of 95% (for the EU, therefore 5% for the member state) as part of Cohesion Policy efforts to support reconstruction.
It should be recalled that the Attiki region on the outskirts of Athens was affected by very large-scale forest fires that are likely to have been caused through criminal action and which led to more 80 deaths. The Commission immediately expressed solidarity through its President, Jean-Claude Juncker (see EUROPE 12069, 12070).
The Union has been affected by an unprecedented heat wave, which has also provoked massive fires in Sweden (see EUROPE 12068). (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)