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Flood-stricken countries will receive ten billion euros from the EU, according to Fiala, the Czech Republic will receive two

by AI | 20.Sep 2024 | Europe in brief AI

The head of the commission noted at the press conference that the money from the fund would be mobilized in an unusual way. There will be no need for co-financing by member states, as is customary, but the assistance will be fully funded by the EU.

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala. Photo: EP/Daina Le Lardic

Vratislav – States in Central and Eastern Europe affected by floods will be able to use ten billion euros (250 billion CZK) from the EU Cohesion Fund, said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Thursday in Vratislav. She wants the affected countries to be able to use the money as quickly and as easily as possible. According to Prime Minister Petr Fiala, who attended the meeting in Poland, the Czech Republic will receive two billion euros (50 billion CZK).

The Commission President noted at a press conference that the union would mobilize the fund’s money in an unusual way. It will not require co-financing from member countries, as is customary, but the aid will be fully covered by the EU. “Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures,” von der Leyen declared in Vratislav, which was currently experiencing a flood wave.

Countries affected by natural disasters can also use the European Solidarity Fund, which the union established after the Central European floods in 2002, to restore damaged infrastructure. According to von der Leyen, the Solidarity Fund can finance the restoration of highways, roads, or bridges. EU cohesion funds can then be “flexibly drawn on to restore the affected country.”

Fiala, who attended the meeting along with the heads of governments of Poland, Slovakia, and Austria, Donald Tusk, Robert Fico, and Karl Nehammer, praised the cooperation between rescuers in individual countries and also the preventive measures taken in the past, which, according to him, is why the damage from the floods is not as great as before. “Now we need to repair the infrastructure, and it would be difficult to do so from national budgets, so I am glad that Ursula von der Leyen has come up with concrete solutions,” he noted. According to him, the Czech Republic will receive two billion euros from European funds. (September 19)