At a plenary debate in Strasbourg on Tuesday 17 December, MEPs called on the European Union to use every possible means to help Mayotte in the wake of cyclone Chido, which has devastated the archipelago.
Raffaele Fitto, the European Commission Executive Vice-President for Cohesion Policy, told MEPs: “We are ready to mobilise all available tools and funds to complement the measures being taken by France”. Immediate assistance is available through the emergency response coordination centre. Thanks to the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, the Commission can coordinate donations of aid-in-kind and deploy experts and disaster response equipment.
In the medium term, France may request assistance from the EU Solidarity Fund if the damage exceeds 1% of Mayotte’s GDP. “We encourage France to estimate the damages and submit a request within the 12-week window”, said the Vice-President.
The Commission can also help identify investments under the common agricultural policy (CAP) and cohesion policy (medium and long term). The Commission is ready to reprogramme these funds to deal with the consequences of the cyclone. For example, the POSEI programme for outermost regions can be adjusted to address the impact of the cyclone. The CAP also provides for measures to restore agricultural production potential damaged by natural disasters.
In addition, the RESTORE instrument (validated by the European Parliament) will allow France to use up to 10% of its 2021-2027 ERDF and ESF+ allocations for emergency interventions, including a faster reallocation of ERDF and ESF+ funds for the reconstruction efforts, said Raffaele Fitto (see EUROPE 13547/25).
Need for solidarity. “Mayotte will need water, food, infrastructure and reconstruction”, said François-Xavier Bellamy (EPP, French). For Grégory Allione (Renew Europe, French), Europe will be present “thanks to the policy of solidarity that binds it together”. The French government should ask for the EU Civil Protection Mechanism (rescEU) to be activated, “just as it is possible, for repairs, to call on the RESTORE regulation”, said Younous Omarjee (The Left, French).
France criticised. Nora Mebarek (S&D, French) denounced “the failure of French politics. France has done nothing, or very little, to share its prosperity with the Mahorans”, in her view. “Abandoned by the French State and the European Union, crammed into shanty towns, with failing public services, the people of Mayotte have been unable to cope with cyclone Chido”, analysed Marie Toussaint (Greens/EFA, French).
French President Emmanuel Macron will visit the island of Mayotte on Thursday 19 December. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)