European Commission proposes EUR 86.7 million to help France and Greece following natural disasters

France and Greece will receive financial support worth a total of EUR 86.7 million if the European Parliament and the Council approve the Commission’s proposal

On Monday 22 March, the European Commission proposed financial support worth EUR 86.7 million for France and Greece following the 2020 natural disasters. The aid would come from the European Union Solidarity Fund (EUSF) and it would have to be approved by the European Parliament and the Council.

What is the EUSF?

The EUSF was first created in the summer of 2002 after Central Europe suffered multiple severe floods. Since then, the fund has helped 23 Member States and 1 accession country by providing over EUR 6.5 billion for emergency and recovery operations following 96 disaster events.

Now, the European Commission has proposed to help France and Greece using this Solidarity Fund. If the proposal is approved, the EUR 86.7 million will be distributed in the following way:

• EUR 59.3 million to help France recover from the severe damages caused by storm Alex which hit the Provence-Alpes-Côtes d'Azur region in October 2020.
• EUR 21.6 million to help Greece with the aftermath of the Mediterranean Cyclone Ianos which took place in September 2020.
• EUR 3.3 million to help the Greek Sterea Ellada region recover from the August 2020 floods.
• EUR 2.5 million to provide emergency and recovery operations in the Greek islands of Samos, Ikaria and Chios after the October 2020 earthquakes.

According to the European Commission’s website, the Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms Elisa Ferreira commented on this proposal: “Last week the Commission proposed an important package of support from the EU Solidarity Fund to Member States coping with the consequences of the health emergency, including France and Greece.

Today, we are also lending a helping hand to the population of those two countries that have suffered from natural disasters in 2020. This is the face of EU solidarity: making sure that no one is left behind.”