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Brussels/Strasbourg – The Social Democratic Austrian SPÖ delegation in the EU Parliament announced on Tuesday in Strasbourg that it will send a written urgent inquiry to the EU Commission regarding the EU flood relief. The focus is on “whether Austria will receive EU aid funds for reconstruction after the flood disaster in September 2024” and if so, from where, and whether the Commission President and Chancellor Nehammer have spoken the truth. There was also criticism from the FPÖ and the Greens.
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the rapid mobilization of EU funds at a flood summit in Wrocław, Poland, on September 19, 2024, together with Austria’s Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP). On Monday, the EU Commission in Brussels proposed changes to three EU laws to allow EU funds to flow more quickly to support disaster recovery. The changes are intended to enable the affected member states – including Austria – to reallocate a total of around 18 billion euros from three EU funds.
Von der Leyen and Chancellor Nehammer are accused of promising money in Poland that does not exist. The SPÖ further asks: “Was the Commission President aware that no additional funds would be flowing beyond the already budgeted and thus already planned EU funds from the Cohesion Fund?” and “Did Chancellor Nehammer deliberately conceal the conditions for the disbursement of EU funds from the Austrian public a few days before the National Council election?”
Nehammer exercised heavy criticism during a conversation with oe24 on Sunday. He expects the promise to be kept because the specific amount was stated by Ursula von der Leyen “in front of witnesses.” “There is nothing more to interpret,” Nehammer told oe24. On September 19, von der Leyen declared that the EU would make ten billion euros from the Cohesion Fund available to the countries affected by the natural disaster. Austria could draw 500 million euros from this fund, Nehammer said at the time. No counter-financing was necessary either.
FPÖ Secretary General Christian Hafenecker criticized in a statement “the next deception of the People’s Party”: A few days before the National Council election, “Nehammer staged himself with the active help of the media (…) as a great helper. He had negotiated an additional 500 million euros for the flood victims in Brussels.” It now turns out that “the alleged additional aid was a mere staging on the backs of those people who lost their hard-earned property in the flood.”
“The handling of facts by Chancellor Nehammer is concerning. The supposed negotiation success of over 500 million in flood relief was pure show because the funds are already due to Austria under regional funding and are even partially already allocated. The flood should not harm us twice by giving up long-term future investments in rural areas. The task now is to secure additional funds from the Solidarity Fund for Austria,” explained the green EU delegation leader Thomas Waitz. (22.10.2024)