Storm Boris will delay Orbán’s clash with MEPs in Strasbourg

Brussels – The death toll of storm Boris, which has been battering Central and Eastern Europe since last week, rose to eight. The torrential rains have caused extensive damage in at least six EU member states, whose governments are scrambling to get people to safety and limit the damage. The EU’s civil protection mechanism, which chancelleries have to activate specifically, has not yet been activated in Brussels. Hungarian premier Viktor Orbán canceled all institutional engagements, especially abroad, and will thus skip the meeting with MEPs in Strasbourg on Wednesday.

Since Storm Boris began raging in the Central European area on Thursday (Sept. 12), the wind and rain have not stopped. Large parts of Austria, Czechia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Hungary were affected by extreme weather phenomena of high intensity – in some areas, for example in Czechia, they have seen around three months’ rainfall in just three days – while already thousands of residents have been displaced from their homes. As of Monday morning (Sept. 16), there were eight people officially confirmed deaths, but this number is likely to increase in the coming hours, not least since at least another four are still missing in Czechia.

The (re)elected chairwoman of the EU executive, Ursula von der Leyen, reported on X that “the EU remains ready to help” states and communities affected by the floods. “At this stage, the EU Civil Protection Mechanism (of the EU, Ed.) has not been activated” as none of the countries affected requested, European Commission spokesperson Balazs Ujvari confirmed to Eunews. In contrast, four (Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Hungary) “have requested satellite images via Copernicus,” the European Space Agency (ESA) Earth observation service, to assess the extent of damage and calibrate a response. Polish premier Donald Tusk, who is reportedly in the process of declaring a state of natural disaster, announced that his minister of European Affairs “will apply for European aid.” However, to our knowledge, that request has not yet been formalized.

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis was quick to link the events of the past few days to climate change: “We are again facing the effects of climate change, which are increasingly present on the European continent, with dramatic consequences,” he said. He was echoed by the Greens’ co-leader in the European Parliament, Terry Reintke, who reiterated that “extreme weather events are a growing threat,” warning that “we must act now” to prevent them from deteriorating. Iratxe García Pérez of the Social Democrats (S&D) announced that she will call for a debate in the House during the ongoing plenary session in Strasbourg this week to discuss “the mobilization of the EU’s emergency responses.”

The most anticipated guest of this session, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, will not be present in Strasbourg. The Magyar leader announced that he has canceled all international engagements scheduled for the coming days and will remain in Budapest to handle the emergency in person. In the capital, the Danube is expected to rise to over 8.5 meters (the record is 8.91 meters in 2013). Orbán was supposed to present the program of the Hungarian presidency of the Council to MEPs during a debate that could have been particularly tense following, among other things, his peace missions around half the world and the issue of controversial facilitated visas”issued to Russian and Belarusian citizens. In short, the face-to-face has only been postponed.