The Spanish government will propose to the European Commission to amend the post-COVID recovery plan to redirect unused EU funds to “reconstruction and revitalisation” of the areas most affected by the floods, according to Euractiv.
Spanish Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo said at a press conference in Brussels on Tuesday:
We are going to present an addendum to the recovery plan to redirect these funds towards strategic projects that go beyond the immediate reaction, that will rebuild, modernise, and have a more resilient economy and, therefore, a more productive economy going forward.
The European Parliament plans to discuss the “devastating floods” in Spain and the need to support victims, improve disaster preparedness and tackle the climate crisis at a plenary session on Wednesday. Catastrophic flooding in Valencia, Castilla-La Mancha and southern Andalusia was addressed by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on the first day of the UN climate summit (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Tuesday.
It is they (the victims) who lead me to say today loud and clear that climate change kills.
So far, the flooding has killed 214 people, with dozens still missing.
Cuerpo also expressed Madrid’s hope “to have on the table before the end of the year the proposal to modify the addendum to include a specific vector (of EU aid) for Valencia.” Efforts are currently focused on analysing how much of the unspent EU money can be redirected and compiling a list of “priority projects” for resettlement.
The Minister said that Spain would use all the European solidarity mechanisms at its disposal, along with “greater use of European Investment Bank funds.”
