Executive Summary

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

"The position of the European Commission is that we may receive over 3.8 million euros, but we're also awaiting the position of the European Parliament and the Council of the EU," Kosor said.

Kosor said this was a good sign that

* Some 20,000 people evacuated

By Daria Sito-Sucic and Benet Koleka

SARAJEVO/TIRANA, Dec 6 (Reuters) - Heavy rain in the Balkans has killed three people, forced the evacuation of around 20,000 from inundated areas and caused more than 340 million euros ($450.8 million) in damage, officials said on Monday.

Three family members were killed when a landslide hit their house in the northeastern Bosnian town of Tuzla on Sunday. A total of 4,000 people have been evacuated in Bosnia so far.

Red Cross societies across Europe are working flat out to combat the effects of the current severe weather. Floods, snow and temperatures as low as minus 33 have cost dozens of lives, wreaked havoc on transport and made many thousands of people vulnerable.

The worst of the weather has been in the Balkans, where floods have hit Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia. Red Cross teams are visiting the worst-affected places and the Federation's Europe Zone office is helping national societies with their response.

Women from civil society and senior UN leaders in conflict-affected countries participated in 25 dialogues on conflict resolution and peacebuilding in June, July and August 2010. These 'Open Days on Women, Peace and Security' signal the UN's commitment to engaging women in building peace and security in this tenth anniversary year of the landmark United Nations Security Council resolution 1325 (2000). These meetings enabled women to share priorities and concerns, and have provided a model for regular dialogue between women of civil society and

UNDP is working with developing countries to increase their capacity to negotiate effectively in Copenhagen for the best possible climate change deal as well as their ability to access carbon finance. We are assisting governments in the developing world to move towards

Croatia, similar to other countries in the South Eastern and Central Europe, is exposed to a range of natural hazards, particularly, floods, wildfires, earthquakes, extreme temperatures, strong winds, and drought. The country shows warming, drying climate conditions, a trend which together with human activities enhances the risk of forest fires. Wildfires have been particularly dangerous along the Adriatic coast in recent years; in 2007 alone, 2,700 wildfires were reported on the coast.

Croatia's weather hazards are consequential