Speed up EU financial help for flood victims

The EPP Group is calling on the EU to speed up financial aid for victims of the devastating floods affecting a quarter of European countries. Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, Hungary, Romania and Germany have all been hit by extreme weather conditions, resulting in the deaths of 23 people. The loss of life and the destruction of homes and vital infrastructure show that we urgently need to improve the EU’s preparedness and speed in responding to such disasters.

"The EU stands ready to assist those affected by the floods in Central and Eastern Europe and the fires in Portugal. We recognise that the Union's budget should be more flexible, more resilient and quicker to respond to crises with financial aid. Flexibility is key and we will work to ensure it is built into the EU's next long-term budget," said EPP Group Vice-Chair Siegfried Mureşan MEP, one of the European Parliament's lead negotiators on the next Multiannual Financial Framework.

"Local authorities know best the needs of their communities. That is why we want to work closely with them to strengthen our preparedness and the EU's budgetary power," Mureşan continued.

EU policy must adapt to the fact that there are and will be more and more crises, said Andrey Novakov MEP, EPP Group Spokesman on Regional Development. "Migration, the pandemic, energy and war... We thought we’d seen it all, but the next decade will be the most challenging for EU’s regions, cities and rural areas as disasters intensify. The EU should set itself a new target – zero deaths from natural disasters".

"Cohesion policy must continue to invest in adaptation, mitigation and disaster prevention for resilient regions – local infrastructure, equipment, personnel and technical assistance to local authorities,” Novakov underlined.