On Tuesday 27 August, the European Commission proposed financial aid of more than €1 billion from the European Union Solidarity Fund (EUSF) to support Italy, Slovenia, Austria, Greece and France after the severe flooding that hit these countries in 2023.
The aid is distributed as follows: €378.8 million for Italy after flood damage in the Emilia-Romagna region in May 2023 and a further €67.8 million for the Tuscany region (floods in October and November 2023); €428.4 million for Slovenia and €5.2 million for Austria to deal with the consequences of flooding in August 2023; €101.5 million for Greece after flooding in September 2023; €46.7 million for France (flooding in the Hauts-de-France region in November 2023).
Aid from the EUSF will cover part of the cost of emergency operations, in particular repairing damaged infrastructure, safeguarding cultural heritage and clean-up operations.
Once the Commission’s proposal has been approved by the Parliament and the EU Council, the financial aid can be paid immediately and in a single instalment to each of the applicant countries.
Since its creation in 2002, the EUSF has mobilised more than €8.6 billion for 130 disasters (110 natural disasters and 20 health emergencies) in 24 Member States (plus the United Kingdom) and four candidate countries (Albania, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey). (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)