Europees Parlement akkoord met steun voor het door en aardbeving getroffen Italiaanse Abruzzo-gebied (en)

Met dank overgenomen van Europees Parlement (EP) i, gepubliceerd op donderdag 8 oktober 2009, 13:55.

Parliament has approved the release of half a billion euro from the EU Solidarity Fund to Italy's Abruzzo region, hit by a severe earthquake in April this year. This is the largest sum of Solidarity Fund aid ever to go to a single country.

The 6 April earthquake claimed 300 lives and injured 1,500. About 300,000 people were otherwise affected. The Italian authorities estimate the total direct damage at €10.2 billion, i.e. three times this year's €3.4 billion threshold for mobilising the Solidarity Fund.

On 5 October the Budgets Committee unanimously approved a Commission proposal to mobilise a total of €493,771,159. This amount represents 2.5% of the cost of direct damage under the threshold and 6% of that above it.

The Council is expected to confirm Parliament's decision tomorrow.

Background

Italy applied for Solidarity Fund support on 8 June and on 28 August the Commission proposed a budget amendment to cover the cost.

The Solidarity Fund budget is up to one billion euro per annum. After earlier payments to Romania (€11.8 million) and France (€109 million), €878.8 million were still available.

Rapporteur: Reimer Böge (EPP,DE) (Inter-institutional Agreement procedure)