On Thursday 14 November, the European Parliament agreed to vote under urgent procedure at a forthcoming plenary session on the proposal for regional emergency support to reconstruction in the event of natural disasters.
This text aims to provide rapid, additional and effective support, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+), to Member States, regions, local authorities and people seriously affected by regional disasters, to complement the resources available under the European Union Solidarity Fund.
In order to provide additional support and greater flexibility to Member States affected by natural disasters occurring from 1 January 2024, the European Commission is proposing to create a new specific objective within the current scope of the ERDF. This would allow Member States to reprogramme amounts earmarked for reconstruction following natural disasters as part of their 2021-2027 programmes under the ’investment for jobs and growth’ goal.
It is proposed that Member States, when using the proposed framework, benefit from an additional pre-financing of 30% of the amounts programmed under the specific priorities and the possibility of applying EU funding of up to 100%.
Agriculture. The same urgency procedure applies to the proposal to grant additional aid to EU countries affected by natural disasters through the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (see EUROPE 13522/12).
Link to the proposal: https://aeur.eu/f/eaa (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)