Today the Commission granted aid worth €66.5 million from the European Union Solidarity Fund to Bulgaria, Italy and Romania following three natural disasters in 2014.
The aid — €1.98 million to Bulgaria, €56 million to Italy and nearly €8.5 million to Romania — aims to partially cover the emergency costs of recovery operations following floods. It will particularly help restore vital infrastructure and services, reimburse the cost of emergency and rescue operations, and cover some of the clean-up costs in the disaster-stricken regions.
Commissioner for Regional Policy Corina Crețu said: “The EU Solidarity Fund is one of our strongest symbols of solidarity in times of need. In many cases, the financial aid proposed in today’s decision will help some of Europe’s least developed regions to get back on their feet; it also demonstrates the EU’s solidarity with the 130,000 affected people who need to overcome the consequences of devastating floods.”
Many of the Programmes co-financed by European Structural and Investment Funds for 2014-2020 aim to invest in preventing floods and mitigating the impact of climate change, for which there is a sustained need.
More on http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-15-4746_en.htm .
