BRUSSELS , 26 Nov. - (ANA)- The European Union has allocated  €823 million to eight member states to help with Covid-19 and natural disasters.

 

• Most of the aid, over €692 million, will assist Croatia in rebuilding following the March earthquake and in dealing with the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic

 

• €124 million for Germany, Ireland, Greece, Spain, Hungary, and Portugal to tackle the COVID-19 health emergency

 

• €7 million for Poland for reconstruction following June floods

On Tuesday, Parliament approved €823 million in EU aid for the Croatia earthquake, floods in Poland, and the response to the coronavirus crisis in seven EU countries.

 

The €823 million in aid from the European Union Solidarity Fund (EUSF) will be distributed as follows:

 

 

• More than €132.7 million to be distributed in advance payments to Germany, Ireland, Greece, Spain, Croatia, Hungary, and Portugal in response to the major public health emergency caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020.

 

• Croatia will receive €683.7 million to help the country deal with the devastating effects of the earthquake in Zagreb and the surrounding area in March 2020. A first disbursement of €88.9 million was already released in August 2020.

 

• More than €7 million will go to Poland to assist reconstruction efforts following floods in the Podkarpackie Voivodeship province in June this year.

 

 

 

 

As part of the Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative (CRII), in 2020 the scope of the EU Solidarity Fund rules was extended, enabling the EU to help countries respond to major public health emergencies.

 

 

 

 

The European Union Solidarity Fund (EUSF) was set up to respond to major natural disasters and express European solidarity to disaster-stricken regions within Europe. The Fund was created as a reaction to the severe floods in Central Europe in the summer of 2002. Since then, it has been used for 80 disasters covering a range of different catastrophic events including floods, forest fires, earthquakes, storms and drought. 24 different European countries have been supported so far for an amount of over 5 billion euros.   - (ANA) -

 

AB/ANA/27 November 2020 - - -