Von der Leyen pledges billions of euros for flood-stricken regions

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has pledged EU-funded aid to help repair the damage caused by recent floods as she visited the western Polish city of Wroclaw on Thursday, www.euractiv.com reports.   A massive wave of flooding has hit central Europe in recent days, causing widespread damage from Romania to Poland, killing at least 24 people and destroying infrastructure in several region   “I am here to reassure you that Europe stands by your side. This is a moment of need, of disaster, and we all stand together to overcome the challenge,” von der Leyen alongside Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk (PO, EPP) and his Czech, Austrian and Slovakian counterparts Petr Fiala (ODS, ECR), Karl Nehammer (ÖVP, EPP) and Robert Fico (Smer, PfE) – all of whom hail from countries which were severely affected by flooding.   It was “heartbreaking on the one hand to see the destruction and devastation [caused by] the floods,” she said, but “heartwarming to see enormous solidarity […] of the countless volunteers” who came to help the flood victims.   The European Union would quickly provide money for repairs from the EU Solidarity Fund and €10 billion from the Cohesion Fund for the most urgent repairs, von der Leyen announced, adding that individual bloc countries would have to contribute to releasing the money.   “It was three days ago that I invited President Ursula von der Leyen because of the flooding that has battered our country,” Tusk said at the joint press briefing. EU plus state money to address the needs   The location of the summit was no coincidence. While the floods largely spared Wroclaw, it is from here that the Polish government is coordinating its response to the floods. “It took us exactly 45 minutes to align our expectations and reach a satisfactory declaration by the Commission,” Tusk said.   The EU Solidarity Fund provides financial assistance to member states and acceding countries following major natural disasters and, from 2020, major health emergencies.   Tusk said his government would use money from the EU, the state budget and local governments to cover relief and reconstruction costs in flood-ravaged areas. This money must be sufficient not only to meet the most urgent needs but also for the full reconstruction of the damaged areas, he added. The Polish government has earmarked two billion zlotys (€468 million) in the state budget for the post-flood recovery.   According to economists, cited by the Polish Dziennik news outlet, the major flood in 1997, which affected Central Europe, cost Poland 78-90 billion zlotys (€18 billion). Slovakia praises ‘tremendous help’   Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico described the European Union’s allocation of ten billion euros from the Cohesion Fund to flood-hit countries as a “tremendous help”. Fico noted that Slovakia, along with the Czech Republic, Poland, and Austria, had urged the European Commission to allow greater flexibility in using EU funds for flood relief even before von der Leyen’s proposal.   Commenting on the outcome of the Wroclaw meeting, Fico added: “In all my years attending EU-level meetings, I don’t recall such a brief session yielding such positive results.”