Rasi: EU Solidarity Fund Can Be Used To Deal with Major Flood Damage

Kosice, September 16 (TASR) - If the conditions for the extent of the damage are met, the European Union Solidarity Fund could be used to cope with the consequences of the current floods in Slovakia, Investments, Regional Development and Informatisation Minister Richard Rasi (Voice-SD) said in Kosice on Monday. "If these floods cause damage that exceeds 1.5 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) of the region in question, it is also possible to apply for special funding from the European Solidarity Fund," he told reporters. The minister pointed out that the solidarity fund was set up to help EU member states and candidate countries hit by major natural disasters, including floods, fires and earthquakes. The fund has a volume of around €1 billion a year. Rasi also informed about other possibilities for preventing and addressing crisis situations from EU funds. "I'm convinced that thanks to the hundreds of millions of euros from the new programming period, Slovakia will be better prepared to cope with future natural disasters, which undoubtedly await us, with the least possible damage," said Rasi. The minister pointed out that more than €11 million will currently be spent on cross-border projects in the field of climate and biodiversity within the framework of the Interreg Poland-Slovakia programme. "Just today, a call for support for cooperation in the context of adaptation to climate change and protection against natural disasters has been announced with an allocation of €4.5 million euros," announced Rasi. At the same time, a call for biodiversity was announced with an allocation of €6.6 million. "These two calls also serve to ensure that we are able to respond to such disasters also in border areas, in this case the Slovak-Polish border area," noted Rasi. am/mcs