Brussels, 14/05/2009 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 14 May, Regional Policy Commissioner Danuta Hübner met Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to discuss the consequences of the earthquake that devastated the Abruzzo region in April this year. On Friday 15 May, she will go to where the disaster hit to assess damage and explore possibilities of European Union support with the president of the region, Giovanni Chiodi.
Italian authorities have ten weeks, until 15 June, to present to the Commission a request for EU Solidarity Fund intervention. They are currently preparing this request in close collaboration with Commission services, a press release from the latter points out, adding that the Solidarity Fund may intervene once a certain threshold is reached, this being fixed in Italy at €3.4 billion worth of damage. The Commission will assess justification for the dossier. In order to release funding, the Commission will request that the budgetary authority adopt an amending budget.
The Commission states that the regional programme for the Abruzzo region, supported by Structural Funds in 2007-2013 with an ERDF budget of €140 million, may also provide assistance by financing, for example, the rehabilitation of public buildings or support measures for local employment.
Yesterday, Ms Hübner announced that, very exceptionally, the deadline for making payment claims to the Commission for the previous Abruzzo programme for 2000-2006 will be extended until 30 June 2010 instead of 30 June 2009 (EUROPE 9900). (G.B./transl.jl)