The €10 billion in aid from the EU Cohesion Funds was announced by the President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, for Central European countries affected by floods.
Her head Commission met in Wroclaw, Poland, with the leaders of four Central European countries affected by Storm Boris. Heavy rains, floods and strong winds 24 people died in the Czech Republic, Austria, Poland and Romania.
“This is an emergency response”
“At first glance, it is possible to release €10 billion from the Cohesion Fund for the affected countries. This is an urgent response,” von der Leyen said after meeting the prime ministers of Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia and the Austrian chancellor. “It was heartbreaking (…) to see the devastation and despair” caused by the floods, she added.
Sources of help
Von der Leyen said the EU had two potential sources of aid, the Cohesion Fund and the Solidarity Fund, that it could use “to help finance recovery and reconstruction.” “We will use the Cohesion Fund in an unusual way” so that this money can meet needs flexibly, she noted.
The regional meeting took place in Wroclaw in western Poland, a city of 670,000 people under siege. Today, the water level reached its highest point, although not as high as in 1997, when Wrocław suffered devastating floods. However, the waters may not recede for several days, raising concerns about the durability of the dams.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned residents not to become complacent, thinking that “the worst is over.”
The rain has largely stopped in the region, but raging rivers still threaten towns and villages. In some places the water has “literally destroyed everything”, leaving a landscape reminiscent of a “war zone”, Polish Infrastructure Minister Dariusz Klimczak said.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who cancelled all his international engagements because of Storm Boris, did not attend the Wrocław summit, as did his Romanian counterpart because of a meeting of the Supreme National Defence Council.
Poland’s government said it would release 2 billion zlotys (470 million euros) for those affected, while the Austrian government announced on Wednesday that aid would reach 1 billion euros.
Sources: AMPE, AFP