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The European Commission (EC), the executive body of the European Union (EU), on Wednesday proposed creating a new Disaster Relief Fund of at least 500 million euro (about US$492 million) to assist states hit by this summer's flooding.
"It would be just the right kind of an expression of European solidarity that is needed today," said Commission President Romano Prodi.
Prodi said the new fund would be in addition to "several billion euros" from existing European aid for poor regions that will be redirected to flood-damaged parts of Germany and Austria, and to the EU applicant countries which also suffered from the flood.
Prodi told reporters the new fund would be a permanent reserve to be used to tackle disasters in Europe. It would be increased to one billion euros (about US$983 million) next year, he added.
"If the Parliament and the Council agree, this fund could become operational very soon and money coming from it could be used already to compensate the damages caused by the recent flooding," he said.
He said that action of the Relief Fund would primarily focus on the short-term reconstruction of destroyed infrastructures, electricity, water, telecommunications, transport and social infrastructures including dams and dikes.
The rare and heavy flood which hit central Europe caused heavy losses in countries including Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
(Xinhua News Agency August 29, 2002)
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