92002E2468

WRITTEN QUESTION P-2468/02

by Daniela Raschhofer (NI) to the Commission

(29 August 2002)

Subject: EU funding for flood aid

Over the past few weeks, Austria, Germany and the Czech Republic have been devastated by floods of hitherto unimagined proportions.

Thousands of people have been deprived of their livelihoods; their lives have been destroyed.

The cost of the damage caused by the flood amounts to several billion euro.

In view of this catastrophe:

- To what extent could structural assistance be redeployed so as to make funding available from the EU Structural Funds, in order to ensure that the victims receive rapid financial assistance?

- How much financial assistance could be granted, and how soon?

Joint answerto Written Questions P-2468/02, P-2506/02 and P-2542/02given by Mr Barnier on behalf of the Commission

(15 October 2002)

The Commission shares the distress of the families plunged into grief by August's serious flooding in Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia and is fully alive to their social, economic and environmental implications. Accordingly, on 28 August it announced a series of initiatives involving various Community policies to help the countries and regions concerned and the impact of the floods.(1)

Among the existing instruments available are the Structural Funds (for affected Member States) and the Instrument for Structural Policies for Pre-Accession (for the applicant countries).

In the zones and regions eligible for assistance from these Funds 2000-2006 programming period appropriations that have not yet been committed or projects already scheduled can at the Member States' request be redeployed between the priorities of the regional programmes. Meetings with the various national regional authorities are in progress in order to specify the amount that can be reallocated. The Commission will make full use of the margins of flexibility offered by the regulations governing these Funds and by the Community rules on State aid and public procurement.

Going beyond the existing mechanisms, the Commission on 18 September adopted a proposal for a Council Regulation establishing a European Union Solidarity Fund(2) to aid countries and regions affected by major disasters. It could be given in both the present Member States and the countries for which accession negotiations are in progress. Article 13 of the Commission's proposal states that countries affected by disasters from 1 August 2002 onwards can request assistance from the Fund. The proposals for the Regulation and for an institutional agreement making the necessary resources available are now being negotiated in Parliament and the Council with adoption expected at the end of October. The Commission is therefore unable at present to indicate what amount of aid from this Fund could be granted to Austria.

(1) COM(2002) 481 final of 28.8.2002: Commission communication to Parliament and the Council the European Community responds to the flooding in Austria, Germany and several applicant countries: a solidarity-based initiative.

(2) COM(2002) 514 final.