Committee: Budgets

Plans to release €182.4 million in EU Solidarity Fund aid to help repair the flood damage in Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Croatia and Romania in 2010 were approved by the Budgets Committee on Thursday, despite MEPs' strong reservations about the funding method chosen by the Council. The direct cost of the damage is estimated at about €5.5 billion.

MEPs disapproved of the source of the funding, a "negative reserve", as proposed by the Council of