EU Cohesion Policy: €718.5 million to support seven Member States following devastating natural disasters of 2021

€718.5 million will be granted under the EU Solidarity Fund (EUSF) to help seven Member States recovering the damages of the devastating natural disasters of 2021. This follows the agreement by the European Parliament and the Council on the Commission's proposal.

The aid package is composed as follows:

• €612.6 million for Germany; €87.7 million for Belgium; €4.7 million for the Netherlands; €1.8 million for Luxembourg and €780,000 for Austria to recover and rebuild after the disastrous floods of 2021. 
• €9.5 million for Spain following the volcano eruption on the island of La Palma. 
• €1.35 million for Greece following the earthquake in Crete.

Next steps

The Commission will now finalise the respective Commission Implementing Decisions awarding the assistance to each of the Member States supported by this package.

Once the decisions will be adopted, the final financial aid can be paid in a single instalment to the general budget of the requesting eligible countries. Emergency and recovery operations may be financed by the EUSF retroactively from day one of the disaster.

Background

The EU Solidarity Fund (EUSF) is one of the main EU instruments for post-disaster recovery and a tangible expression of EU solidarity. It supports Member States and candidate countries by offering a financial contribution after severe natural disasters and, since 2020, major health emergencies.

Between 2002 and the end of 2022, the EUSF mobilised over €8.2 billion for interventions in 127 disaster events (107 natural disasters and 20 health emergencies) in 24 Member States (plus the UK) and 3 accession countries (Albania, Montenegro, and Serbia).

The EUSF is a special instrument of solidarity and is mobilised upon applications of eligible countries and the assessment of their eligibility. The emergency and recovery operations may be financed by the EUSF retroactively from day one of the disaster.

In the case of natural disasters, both major and regional, the funding can be used for essential emergency and recovery operations like repair of damaged infrastructure, protection for the population, securing preventive infrastructure and protection of cultural heritage, as well as clean-up operations.

In the period 2021-2027, it is part of the newly established Solidarity and Emergency Aid Reserve.

Since April 2020, in the framework of the EU efforts to fight the coronavirus pandemic, the scope of the EUSF was extended to cover major public health emergencies.

For More Information

European Union Solidarity Fund (EUSF)

EU Solidarity Fund: supporting disaster recovery 2002-2020 (data story)