site.btaBulgaria Receives EUR 1.98 Mln from EU Solidarity Fund to Mitigate Effects of Floods

Bulgaria Receives EUR 1.98 Mln
from EU Solidarity Fund
to Mitigate Effects of Floods


Brussels, April 9 (BTA) - The European Commission said on
Thursday it has granted aid worth 66.5 million euro from the
European Union Solidarity Fund to Bulgaria, Italy and Romania
following three natural disasters in 2014.

The aid - 1.98 million euro to Bulgaria, 56 million euro to
Italy and nearly 8.5 million euro to Romania - aims to partially
cover the emergency costs of recovery operations following
floods. It will particularly help restore vital infrastructure
and services, reimburse the cost of emergency and rescue
operations, and cover some of the clean-up costs in the
disaster-stricken regions.

European Regional Policy Commissioner Corina Cretu said: "The EU
Solidarity Fund is one of our strongest symbols of solidarity
in times of need. In many cases, the financial aid proposed in
today's decision will help some of Europe's least developed
regions to get back on their feet; it also demonstrates the EU's
solidarity with the 130,000 affected people who need to
overcome the consequences of devastating floods."

Many of the programmes co-financed by European Structural and
Investment Funds for 2014-2020 aim to invest in preventing
floods and mitigating the impact of climate change, for which
there is a sustained need.

The northwest of Bulgaria - one of the least developed regions
in the EU - suffered greatly from flooding in summer 2014, the
Commission said. Most of the damage occurred in the town of
Mizia and in the village of Krushovitsa. Seven hundred homes and
public buildings were flooded, as well as main roads and farms.
On August 2 the mayor of Mizia declared a state of emergency
and over 800 people had to be evacuated. Serious damage was
caused to energy, water and transport infrastructure, as well as
to public buildings, cultural heritage assets and protected
natural areas. PK/VE


/СН/