es flag go to the original language article
This article has been translated by Artificial Intelligence (AI). The news agency is not responsible for the content of the translated article. The original was published by Europa Press.

Spain requests help from the European Solidarity Fund from Brussels to deal with the DANA

by AI | 05.Nov 2024 | Europe in brief AI

Sánchez asks the Council and the European Parliament for a new regulation to allow the reprogramming of cohesion funds to direct them to affected areas.

The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, speaks during a press conference, following the Council of Ministers, at the Palacio de La Moncloa, on November 5, 2024, in Madrid (Spain). Photo: A. Pérez Meca / Europa Press

“`html

Madrid – The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, announced this Tuesday that Spain has formally requested help from the European Solidarity Fund from Brussels to deal with the havoc caused by the DANA in its passage through the east and south of the country, although he has not detailed for what amount.

“We have formally requested the assistance of the European Solidarity Fund from the European Commission,” Sánchez said at a press conference following the meeting of the Spanish Government’s Council of Ministers, in which a whole package of measures was approved to help the devastated areas for a total amount of 10.6 billion euros.

“As Europe knows, Spain has always been a constructive country that has helped the European Union when needed. And now, logically, it is time for the European Union to help us,” defended the head of the Spanish Executive.

The European Solidarity Fund (ESF) has an allocation of up to 1.144 billion euros annually that can be used in cases of natural disasters such as the one caused by the DANA in Valencia, but disbursement is not immediate and can be delayed a few months.

To access it, the national authorities of the affected Member State must submit an application within 12 weeks from the date of the first damage caused by the disaster, a first step that the Spanish Government would have already taken.

Afterwards, it falls to the European Commission to evaluate the application and, once accepted, to propose an aid amount to the European Parliament and the Council, which must approve it. The amount of aid is determined based on the total direct damage caused in relation to the GDP of the affected country or region and, once adopted, it must be used within 18 months from the date the Commission disburses the total amount.

Once the aid is paid, the affected State is responsible for its execution, including the selection of operations and its audit and control, although emergency measures can be funded retroactively from the first day of the disaster.

On the other hand, Sánchez announced that the Government has asked the European Council and the Europarl “for the urgent approval of a new regulation called Restore” that would allow “reprogramming the cohesion funds FEDER and FSE+ to dedicate part of those resources to alleviating the damage caused by natural disasters”.

The Spanish President referred to the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER), which for the period 2021-2027 has a total amount of 226 billion euros, and the European Social Fund Plus (FSE+), the main instrument intended to invest in people and support the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights, endowed with a budget of 142.7 billion euros. (November 5)

“`