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The EU and Spain are finalizing the shipment of material aid and technical teams to assist after the DANA

by AI | 11.Nov 2024 | Europe in brief AI

Community services are discussing with national authorities the specific offer made by a number of member states of the bloc.

Cars piled up in Masanasa, on November 8, 2024, in Valencia, Valencian Community (Spain). Photos: Rober Solsona / Europa Press

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Brussels – The European Union is in talks with the Spanish authorities to finalize the dispatch of material aid and technical teams through the Civil Protection Mechanism in response to the consequences of the DANA in the Valencian Community.

Once Spain has activated the EU civil protection mechanism, with which Brussels coordinates the supply of aid in the face of natural disasters, community services are discussing with national authorities the concrete offer made by a series of member states of the bloc, the spokesperson, Balazs Ujvari, has confirmed.

“We have several offers from different member states but none yet has been accepted by Spain. Before giving the green light for aid deployment, we need Spain’s approval,” explained the spokesperson.

Specifically, the aid would be shelter materials, sanitary supplies, and cleaning means, as well as the dispatch of teams of logistics and water and waste management experts. Currently, community authorities are working on the technical details of the supply with their Spanish counterpart to ensure that the assistance fits the needs on the ground.

Brussels has confirmed the dispatch of a liaison officer from the EU Emergency Response Coordination Centre to coordinate the imminent supply of European emergency assistance to the flood-affected areas.

The Civil Protection Mechanism depends on the activation by national authorities and is the European instrument to coordinate the dispatch of aid in emergencies that exceed national response capacities.

In the floods that hit central Europe this September, Poland and the Czech Republic requested the European instrument to deal with the situation, while other countries like Hungary or Austria chose to manage the crisis internally. 

The EU then supplied hundreds of dehumidifiers, essential for drying water-damaged buildings and assisting in recovery efforts, in addition to water treatment.

The Ministry of the Interior, at the request of the Valencian Generalitat, activated the European instrument late on Friday. Specifically, the request to the EU is for one hundred high-capacity pumping (HCP) units and fifty Technical Assistance and Support (TAST) experts to intervene in the Valencian regions impacted by the DANA. (November 11)

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