Brussels releases almost EUR 21 million to support the Marche region in recovering from the 2022 floods

Brussels – Almost EUR 21 million from the European Solidarity Fund has been allocated to support the Marche region against the damage caused by rain and flooding in September 2022. The European Commission released the 20.9 million euros today (5 December), after receiving an application for financial support from the Fund (in which Italy – Brussels points out – did not request an advance payment) from the government of Rome on 8 December 2022.

The Italian provinces of Pesaro-Urbino, Ancona and Macerata in the Marche region were hit by intense rainfall in September last year, causing ‘widespread flooding’, recalled Brussels, which ‘cost many lives and damaged key infrastructure and public and private buildings’. It also saw three rivers overflow and flood surrounding areas. The total area affected by the floods was 4,044 km 2, or 43 per cent of the total area of the region.

“Once again, the Solidarity Fund is there to help the Italian authorities to repair, restore and recover after the floods of 2022,” commenteds the European Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, Elisa Ferreira, assuring that the EU wishes tois at the “supportside of Italy and Italian citizens. Thanks to cohesion policy, we can help countries overcome the effects of unprecedented climate crises, the frequency and severity of which are increasing”.

The Solidarity Fund is an extra-budgetary mechanism that allows up to EUR 500 million per year – on top of unspent funds from the previous year – to be mobilised to cover part of the reconstruction costs. Member States affected by natural disasters may apply to the Commission for activation within 12 weeks of the date of the first damage observed, attaching an estimate of the damage to the application. This facility allows for emergency interventions such as the ‘immediate restoration to working order of infrastructure in the fields of energy, telecommunications, transport, health and education’. Since its activation in 2002, almost a third of the total EUR 8.2 billion – around EUR 3 billion – has been allocated to Italy, almost twice as much as Germany, the second largest beneficiary with EUR 1.6 billion.