European Parliament approved a proposal to allocate €280 million from the EU Solidarity Fund to help countries affected by devastating floods in 2024.
On Wednesday, MEPs approved the Commission’s proposal to provide financial assistance to Austria, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Moldova and Bosnia and Herzegovina to deal with the aftermath of severe floods in September and October 2024, with 643 votes in favour, 13 against and 35 abstentions.
The aid from the European Union Solidarity Fund (EUSF) will amount to €280,740,903 and will be distributed as follows:
- Austria: €42,8 million
- Czech Republic: €114 million
- Poland: €76 million
- Slovakia: €2,1 million
- Bosnia and Herzegovina: €45,7 million
- Moldova: €195,200
These funds will support a wide range of recovery measures, including infrastructure repairs, temporary housing, improvements to preventive infrastructure, protection of cultural heritage sites and clean-up operations.
Damage and consequences of floods
MEPs expressed their deep solidarity with the victims, their families and all those affected by the devastating floods. They also stated that the Commission should significantly increase the EUSF budget or its equivalent in its upcoming proposal for a new long-term EU budget (MFF). MEPs added that the EU must continue to combat climate change and its consequences by supporting European and national policies on disaster prevention.
In 2024, 30% of rivers were assessed as having a “high” flood risk and 12% as having an “extremely high” risk. Western Europe was the worst affected, with last year seeing a record number of floods since 1950, when such data began to be collected. The damage caused by floods and storms in Europe exceeds €18 billion.
Among the most destructive were the floods in Spain in October, which killed more than 250 people. Numerous studies have proven a direct link between global warming and the fact that natural disasters, including floods, are becoming more severe and occurring more frequently.
