European Union Solidarity Fund

MEMO/05/287
Brussels, 26th August 2005 - Background: The EUSF was created after the floods in Central Europe in summer 2002. It entered into force on 15 November 2002. Member States and countries negotiating accession (RO/BG) can request aid in the event of a major natural disaster.

Assistance: The EUSF provides financial aid for emergency measures in the event of a major natural disaster (i.e. direct damage above € 3 billion (at 2002 prices) or 0.6% of the gross national income, whichever is the lower). Exceptionally, it can be mobilised even if the threshold is not met: 1) for a neighbouring State that is affected by the same major disaster; 2) for extraordinary regional disasters affecting the majority of the population of a region and having serious and lasting effects on its economic stability and living conditions. In principle payments from the Fund are limited to finance emergency operations undertaken by the public authorities alleviating non insurable damages (such as rescue services, putting infrastructures back in operation, provisional accommodation, cleaning up etc).

Annual budget: The Commission decides the amount of any aid and proposes its mobilisation to the budgetary authority (European Parliament and Council). The maximum annual budget that can be mobilised is € 1 billion per year. However, the actual amount that is mobilised varies from year to year, depending on the occurrence of disasters (2002: EUR 728 m; 2003: EUR 107.1 m; 2004 : EUR 19.6 m). The amount available annually for extraordinary regional disasters is limited to 7.5% of the EUSF's annual budget (€ 75 million).

Aid amount: A country affected by a disaster receives a lower rate of aid of 2.5% for the part of the damage below the threshold of 0.6% of GNI or € 3 billion and a higher share of aid of 6% for the part of the damage exceeding the threshold. This ensures that for the same amount of damage relatively poorer countries would receive more aid in absolute terms than richer ones.

Procedure: The national authorities should submit an application to the Commission no later than 10 weeks after the first damage. The Commission then assesses the application and decides whether to activate the EUSF together with the amount of any aid and proposes its mobilisation to the budgetary authority (EP and Council). The aid is paid out in a single instalment after the signing of an implementation agreement with beneficiary State.

The grant shell be used within one year after the date of receipt; any part of the grant remained unused by that date shall be recovered by the Commission. No later than six months after the expiry of the one year period from the date of receipt, the beneficiary State shall present a report on the financial execution of the grant, a statement justifying the expenditure, as well as detail the preventive measures introduced or proposed in order to limit damage or avoid, to the extent possible, a recurrence of similar disasters