WRITTEN QUESTION P-2539/02

by Daniela Raschhofer (NI) to the Commission

(5 September 2002)

Subject: EU funding for flood aid

Over the past few weeks, Austria, Germany and the Czech Republic have been devastated by floods of hitherto unimagined proportions. Thousands of people have been deprived of their livelihoods; their lives have been destroyed. The cost of the damage caused by the floods amounts to several billion euro.

In the light of this catastrophe:

- Are funds available from the agriculture budget to ensure that the victims receive rapid financial assistance, as was the case during the BSE crisis, for example?

- If so, how much financial assistance could be granted, and in what form?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(2 October 2002)

The Commission has, at its meeting of 28 August 2002, adopted a broad package of measures and initiatives of short- and medium-term support to people in the regions affected by the flooding. Details of this package have been communicated to the Parliament and the Council (The European Community response to the flooding in Austria, Germany and several applicant countries(1)).

One key part of the package consists of the proposal to create an Union Solidarity Fund, which puts at the disposal of Member States and countries with whom accession negotiations are under way affected by disasters up to EUR 1 billion as from 2002. The solidarity fund is to support immediate relief actions. The Commission seeks the agreement of the budget authority (Parliament and Council) on this proposal.

As regards agriculture and rural development, the Commission would like to highlight the following essential elements:

- The payment of an advance in direct payments for arable crops, already decided by the Commission, allows Germany to pay 50 % in advance to producers affected by floods in certain areas, between 1 September 2002 and 15 October 2002. This is to meet immediately liquidity needs. To this end, Community funds of EUR 560 million are shifted from the 2003 budget to 2002.

- The use of land set aside under the arable crops scheme for feeding purposes has already been authorised as from 9 August 2002 onwards on condition that at least 33 % of the forage area of the holding has been flooded in certain regions of Germany, Ireland, Austria and the United Kingdom.

- For Austria, the Commission has decided to make available 30 600 tonnes of intervention stocks of cereals at EUR 50/tonne (almost half of the normal price) for animal producers, to compensate for forage losses due to flooding.

- The Commission will adopt a flexible and fast track-procedure to enable Member States and regions concerned to use unspent Community funds for restoring the agricultural and forestry potential. These funds shall be channelled through the rural development programmes. The Commission is ready to examine further flexibility as regards administrative requirements of existing Commission implementing provisions.

- The Commission is preparing a proposal to modify the Sapard-Regulation(2) (Rural development pre-accession instrument for candidate countries) for areas affected by disasters: the aid intensity (ceiling of public aid) is to be increased from 50 to 75 %, and Community co-financing from 75 to 85 %.

The Commission is prepared to examine in a flexible way any further requests by the Member States and candidate countries affected by the flood to support agriculture and rural areas.

(1) COM(2002) 481 final.

(2) Council Regulation (EC) No 1268/1999 of 21 June 1999 on Community support for pre-accession measures for agriculture and rural development in the applicant countries of central and eastern Europe in the pre-accession period, OJ L 161, 26.6.1999.