The European Parliament plenary session in Strasbourg on Wednesday decided on the European Union Solidarity Fund (EUSF) mobilization in order to mitigate the damages caused by last year's extreme weather and floods hitting our country. On this basis, Hungary got its share of 22 and a half million EUR. The EUSF is designed to intervene in the event of natural disasters, and to express Europe's solidarity with the disaster-stricken areas. The Fund was set up in response to the severe floods in Central Europe in the summer of 2002.

The Ministry of Interior on behalf of the Government submitted an, application to the European Commission in May-June 2010, immediately after the extreme weather situation, to mobilize EUSF. A total of 182 million EUR of aid for 5 states was approved by the commission, from which, the Hungarian part of the tender, after examination, was awarded a maximum of approximately EUR 22.5 million.

The Fund can be spent solely on intervention and on public expenditure facilitating defence, on damages occurred in state and municipal properties, as well as on the (partial) subsequent financing of primary emergency operations. In so doing, the expenses of necessary measures for the immediate restoration of essential infrastructure’s operational ability and of those actions that seek direct damage-neutralization can be taken into account.

(kormany.hu, Ministry of Interior)