European Parliament resolution on flooding in the South of France
Date: 1999-12-16
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: France, aid to disaster victims, environmental risk prevention, flood, natural hazard

C 296/208

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

18.10.2000

Thursday 16 December 1999

6.
Decides that it is politically relevant to send its own parliamentary delegation to the next working
session of the preparatory commission, which will finalise the annexes to the Court’s Statute shortly in
New York, and asks parliaments of Member States to send parliamentary observers to the Preparatory
Commission;

7.
Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and the Commission, the parliaments
of the Member States, the governments and parliaments of applicant countries, and to the Secretary-Gen-
eral of the United Nations.

17. Natural disasters: France

B5-0334, 0345, 0374 and 0387/1999

European Parliament resolution on flooding in the South of France

The European Parliament,

A. having regard to the particularly severe weather conditions and the exceptional rain in the South of
France, in four départements in particular (Tarn, Aude, Pyrénées-Orientales and Hérault) in the night of
Friday to Saturday, 12 to 13 November 1999,

B. whereas several dozen people were killed,

C. whereas thousands of people in the region are still facing hardship, enormous damage has been
caused to road and transport infrastructure, many homes have been destroyed and there are serious
economic and social consequences for the inhabitants, businesses and farms,

D. having regard to the scale of the disaster and the funds which have been made available to restore

normal living conditions,

Expresses its sympathy and support for the families of the victims and with the people who have

1.
been injured;

2. Welcomes the Commission’s undertaking to Parliament on 16 November 1999 to adjust and adapt
the funding allocated to France to cope with the urgency of the situation;

3.
Calls on the Commission to take exceptional emergency aid measures to assist the victims of this
natural disaster and to supplement the action taken by the French government and the local authorities
by using the facilities afforded by the Structural Funds, in particular by redeploying the outstanding bal-
ance on the 1994-1999 programming period;

4.
Believes that the new regional development programme for 2000-2006 financed by the Structural
Funds should include substantial funding aimed at preventing natural disasters and systematic prior evalu-
ation of the environmental impact of the projects financed;

5.
Calls on the Commission, in view of the damage suffered by the region, to make particularly sure
that the four départements are properly taken into account when the zones eligible for Structural Funds are
defined for the period 2000-2006;

6.
Calls on the Commission to submit to the Council a proposal for a decision to release exceptional
Community aid for the reconstruction of disaster areas, identical to the aid which certain Member States
have benefited from in comparable situations;

7.
Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments
and parliaments of the Member States and the members of the regional council and local councils of the
départements of Tarn, Aude, Pyrénées-Orientales and Hérault.