Brussels remains ready to help Spain face the floods caused by DANA which affect the east and south of the country and have cost the lives of more than 200 people. The EU has a series of instruments that countries can request to deal with natural disasters: the Solidarity Fund which would provide access to payment advanced by 50 million euros, even if bureaucratic obstacles and the slow disbursement of funding call into question its effectiveness.
“The EU has provided support in terms of satellite imagery and we are ready to help in any other appropriate way,” European Commission spokesperson Eric Mamer reiterated the message yesterday. The day began in Brussels with a meeting between the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, and the Commissioner responsible for crisis management, Janez Lenarcic. A meeting that was settled without any request from Spain and with a simple conversation about accessible community instruments, according to community sources.
For practical reasons, several resources are available in the EU, notably the Civil Protection Mechanism or the Cohesion Funds. As for the EU Solidarity Fund, it is accessible to countries affected by natural disasters and has an annual amount of 1,440 million euros. The government has a period of twelve weeks to access this financing since the occurrence of the event, even if the final amount depends on the calculations made on the damage caused.
Although it is not a rapid response instrument, but rather intended for the recovery process, the first advance that Spain could receive is 50 million euros. However, this requires the approval not only of the European Commission, but also of the Council of the EU (i.e. the Twenty-Seven) and the European Parliament. Community sources explain that it is common Countries may take time to apply for this funding because they have to calculate the damage caused. To estimate the final amount, it must be considered that this summer Central and Eastern Europe was also affected by natural disasters and therefore resorted to the financing available in this fund.
From a practical point of view, this whole procedure means that the EU Solidarity Fund is subject to numerous controversies and leaves important unknowns. Since its last review in 2014, it has been criticized slow bureaucracy leads to very late payments and does not provide immediate assistance in the event of a natural disaster. Added to this is the lack of transparency which makes it difficult to account for its allocation in the event of poor management of funding.
Added to this is the fact that the available funding, this 1.4 billion euros per year, is often insufficient because it must be distributed between EU countries. This year, not only was Spain the victim of floods, but we must also consider the cases of Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary, which this opens the door to an insufficiency of available funds. The closest benchmark is in 2021 and 2022, when flooding in several countries exceeded budget needs. While member states can receive up to 6% of damage coverage, in the case of Germany this figure has been limited to 1.5%.
Another available instrument, which affects financing, are the funds covered by the cohesion policy for prevention and preparation for climate change. Here again, estimating the amount to which Spain could access is complicated. If we know that Spain has allocated some 863 million euros under cohesion policy for disaster prevention and preparedness for 2021, within the framework of the Community budget from 2021 to 2027.
Already at the level of material resources, Spain could request the activation of the EU civil protection mechanism, which applies in the event of natural disasters when national resources prove insufficient. It is accessible to countries in need of humanitarian aid and the procedure allows Brussels to coordinate the resources it needs with member states, without the government needing to request aid from each of the capitals.
Although the aid and resources provided come from community capitals, this instrument facilitates management and coordination. Furthermore, the European Commission covers up to 75% of transport costs assistance from one country to another.
