The European Commission on Tuesday proposed a EUR 14.6 million aid package from the European Union Solidarity Fund to respond to flooding last autumn, with the majority of the aid going to Slovenia which suffered the worst damages as well as to Croatia and Austria.
The proposal is an expression of the EU's solidarity with Slovenia and regions of Croatia and Austria that were hit by flooding. The package is aimed at relieving the financial burden to repair infrastructure and emergency relief. This will help the affected areas to once again stand on their feet, European Commissioner for Regional Policy Johannes Hahn said.
The Commission's proposal needs to be approved by the Council and the European Parliament and a final decision can be expected in the latter half of the year.
Croatia can expect EUR 286,587 from the package, while EUR 14.8 million will go to Slovenia and the remainder of EUR 240,000 will go to Austria.
EU member states may apply for assistance from the Solidarity Fund in the event of a major natural disaster if total direct damage caused by the disaster exceeds EUR 3 billion, under a 2002 decision, or 0.6% of the country's gross national income, whichever is the lower.
The fund was set up as a reaction to the severe floods in Central Europe in the summer of 2002.
