Brussels, 11/09/2002 (Agence Europe) - As reported in Europe on 7 September, on Wednesday the European Commission, acting on a proposal from Budget Commissioner Michaele Schreyer, approved a draft interinstitutional agreement between Commission, EP and Council to set up an EU Solidarity Fund for natural disasters. The Commission is proposing that the maximum annual amount available from the Fund for Member States and candidate countries in the event of major disasters should be EUR 1 billion, from which about EUR 500 million would be made available for 2002. A quarter of the annual total is to be held in reserve until 1 October each year.
The draft interinstitutional agreement sets out the procedure to be followed to release funds: the three institutions would have to reach agreement. The Commission would present an amending budget and would launch a "trialogue" to ensure that both arms of the Budgetary Authority immediately agree in a single reading on the need for assistance and enter the necessary amount in the budget.
On 18 September next week the Commission will adopt two further proposals in this connection - one on the choice of legal base (operational details and Fund implementation criteria) and one on adding two new budget lines (under Heading 2 or 3) to make it possible for Member States to benefit from the Fund and (under Heading 7) so that candidate countries can also be funded.
In a press release, Michaele Schreyer said: "The recent terrible floods have clearly shown that people expect the EU to be on hand with financial help following disasters of this kind", adding that this was why the Commission had proposed setting up an EU Solidarity Fund to allow swift help to be given in the event of major disasters in Member States or prospective new members negotiating accession.