EU grants 66.5 mln euro in aid for flood relief in Bulgaria, Italy, Romania
Xinhua, April 9, 2015 Adjust font size:
The European Commission (EC) here on Thursday granted aid worth 66.5 million euros (about 71.4 million U.S. dollars) to Bulgaria, Italy and Romania from the European Union Solidarity Fund (EUSF) for three natural disasters in 2014.
According to a press released issued by the EC, the aid - 1.98 million euros to Bulgaria, 56 million euros to Italy and nearly 8.5 million euros to Romania - will help restore vital infrastructure and services, reimburse the cost of emergency and rescue operations, and cover some of the clean-up costs in the disaster-stricken regions.
In October and November of last year, five Italian regions experienced recurrent severe weather with heavy rainfall leading to flooding, mudslides and landslides. In February 2015, Italian authorities applied for financial aid from the fund. Romania and Bulgaria were also affected last year by floods.
The EUSF was set up in 2002 to respond to major natural disasters and express European solidarity with those from disaster-stricken regions within Europe.
The total annual allocation available for the EUSF in 2015 is 541.2 million euros. Combining the remainder of the allocation from the preceding year, the total amount of the solidarity fund available during 2015 is more than 895 million euros. Endit