Report from the Commission - European Union Solidarity Fund annual : report 2007
Date: 2008-11-12
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU financial instrument, activity report, emergency aid, fund (EU), man-made disaster, natural disaster

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 12.11.2008 
COM(2008) 722 final 

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION 

European Union Solidarity Fund 
Annual report 2007 

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TABLE OF CONTENTS 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

Introduction .................................................................................................................. 3 

New applications received in 2007 .............................................................................. 3 

Financing...................................................................................................................... 8 

Monitoring ................................................................................................................... 8 

Closures...................................................................................................................... 10 

Conclusions ................................................................................................................ 10 

Annex 1: European Union Solidarity Fund applications received or completed in 2007........ 12 

Annex 2: Criteria to mobilise the EU Solidarity Fund............................................................. 13 

Annex 3: Determination of the amount of aid.......................................................................... 14 

Annex 4: Thresholds for major disasters applicable in 2007 ................................................... 15 

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1. 

INTRODUCTION 

The European Union Solidarity Fund was set up on 15 November 20021. Article 12 
of the Solidarity Fund Regulation provides that a report on the activity of the Fund in 
the previous year be presented to the European Parliament and to the Council. The 
present  report  presents  the  activities  of  the  Fund  in  2007  covering,  as  in  previous 
reports, three areas: the treatment of new applications received in the course of 2007, 
monitoring  of  the  ongoing  implementation  of  grants,  and  the  assessment  of 
implementation reports with a view to preparing these for closure. 

2. 

NEW APPLICATIONS RECEIVED IN 2007 

In 2007 the Commission received 19 new applications for Solidarity Fund assistance. 
Annex 1 gives a detailed overview of all cases. These were assessed in the light of 
the criteria set out in the Regulation and of the information that applicant States were 
able to provide. 

Germany 

In  January  2007  a  major  storm  ("Kyrill")  hit  Germany  causing  severe  damage  in  a 
number of regions. The German authorities applied for financial assistance from the 
Solidarity Fund on 29 March 2007. Additional information was received on 12 July 
2007.  

The storm qualified as a major disaster as the direct damages of EUR 4 687 million 
exceeded the applicable threshold of EUR 3 267 million (i.e. EUR 3 billion in 2002 
prices).  Significant  damage  was  caused  in  infrastructure,  forestry,  businesses  and 
private households. In the most affected regions a state of emergency was declared. 
Eleven  people  lost  their  lives  as  a  direct  consequence  of  the  storm.  Road  and  train 
networks  were  blocked  by  felled  trees  and  power  cables,  which  lead  to  a  complete 
shut-down  of  the  railway  traffic  in  the  whole  of  Germany  and  required  extensive 
cleaning-up operations.  

The Commission decided on 11 September 2007 to propose to the budget authority 
to  mobilise  the  Solidarity  Fund  and  to  grant  financial  aid  amounting  to 
EUR 166.9 million. Following the budget procedure, the grant was paid to Germany 
on 27 December 2007. 

Spain (EL Hierro) 

Between 26 and 28 January 2007, the island of El Hierro, the smallest of the seven 
islands constituting the Canaries archipelago, was hit by a severe storm accompanied 
by heavy rainfall which caused damage to public infrastructures. On 29 March 2007 
Spain submitted an application for financial assistance.  

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Council  Regulation  (EC)  N°  2012/2002  of  11  November  2002  establishing  the  European  Union 
Solidarity Fund, OJ L 311/3 of 14.11.2002, in the following referred to as “the Regulation”. 

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The disaster caused damage of some EUR 17.858 million, representing 0.55% of the 
normal threshold for mobilising the Fund (EUR 3 267 million). The application was 
therefore  examined  under  the  criteria  for  “extraordinary  regional  disaster”.  The 
regulation calls for particular focus on remote and isolated regions; the island of El 
Hierro falls within this category. 

The  Commission  considered  that,  in  order  for  the  specific  criteria  for  regional 
disasters  to  be  meaningful  in  the  national  context  a  distinction  needs  to  be  drawn 
between serious regional events and those that are merely local. In accordance with 
the principle of subsidiarity the latter are the responsibility of the national authorities, 
while the former can be considered for support under the Solidarity Fund. A disaster 
representing  no  more  than  0.55%  of  the  normal  threshold  for  mobilising  the  Fund 
was  not  considered  to  be  falling  within  this  rationale  of  the  Fund,  not  even  under 
exceptional circumstances or if a remote or isolated region was concerned. 

The affected region was defined by the Spanish authorities as the island of El Hierro 
with  a  population  of  some  10 500  inhabitants  which  represent  0.5%  of  the  total 
population  of  the  Canary  Islands.  While  Regulation  2012/2002  does  not  set  out  a 
minimum size in terms of population or territory for the affected region to be eligible 
the Commission considered that these should be relevant in the economic context of 
the  country  concerned.  In  the  present  case  the  disaster  has  locally  caused  severe 
damage but remained limited to a small territory with a limited number of people.  

While  the  application  left  no  doubt  that  the  heavy  rainfall  locally  caused  serious 
damage,  there  was  no  sufficient  evidence  for  serious  and  lasting  repercussions  on 
living  conditions  and  the  economic  stability  of  the  region  (i.e.  the  Canary  Islands). 
To be meaningful, the concept of regional economic stability could not be applied to 
entities  that  are  too  small  to  have  an  impact  on  the  whole  region.  It  had  to  be 
assessed in the wider regional context, i.e. the Spanish region of the Canary Islands. 
There was no evidence, that the economic stability of the Canary Islands was in any 
way affected. The Commission decided in early 2008 not to mobilise the Fund and 
informed the Spanish authorities accordingly. 

France (La Réunion) 

At  the  end  of  February  2007  the  French  island  of  La  Réunion  was  affected  by  the 
tropical  cyclone  "Gamède"  causing  severe  damage  to  infrastructures  and  different 
sectors of the economy. France submitted an application for financial assistance on 4 
May 2007. Updated information on damage figures was received on 29 June, 12 and 
17 July 2007. As the total direct damage of EUR 211.6 million remained below the 
normal  threshold  for  a  "major  disaster",  representing  6.5%  of  the  applicable 
threshold of EUR 3 267 million, the application was examined under the criteria for 
extraordinary regional disasters. 

The  French  authorities  justified  the  application  with  the  special  situation  of  La 
Réunion  which  is  the  most  distant  and  at  the  same  time  the  most  populated  ultra-
peripheral region of the Union. Evidence was presented to show that because of La 
Réunion's  isolated  location  and  its  already  critical  socio-economic  situation  the 
impact  and  lasting  repercussions  of  the  damage  caused  by  the  cyclone  were  much 
more serious than would otherwise be the case. The disaster caused serious damage 
to  infrastructures,  in  particular  to  roads,  water  supply  and  telecommunications,  as 

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well as in agriculture and fisheries, and it affected - to varying degrees - the entire 
population of La Réunion. In 21 of the island's 24 communes a state of emergency 
had  to  be  declared.  The  evidence  presented  to  demonstrate  serious  and  lasting 
repercussions  on  living  conditions  and  the  economic  stability  of  the  region  was 
mostly  based  on  the  problems  arising  from  the  damage  caused  to  major  roads,  in 
particular  the  destruction  of  a  bridge  on  the  single  most  important  road  connecting 
the  two  economic  poles  in  the  north  and  the  south  of  the  island.  This  expected  to 
negatively  affect  employment  and  economic  growth  including  the  closure  of  a 
number of SMEs. Moreover, the storm led to important income losses in fisheries, in 
the agricultural sector and in tourism. 

The  Commission  decided  on  11  September  2007  to  propose  to  mobilise  the 
Solidarity Fund and to grant financial aid amounting to EUR 5.29 million. Following 
the budget procedure the grant was paid to France on 28 December 2007. 

Spain (Castilla-La Mancha) 

On  22  and  23  May  2007,  parts  of  the  region  of  Castilla-La  Mancha  were  hit  by 
severe  floods  which  caused  damage  to  public  infrastructures,  private  homes, 
businesses and agriculture. Spain submitted an application for financial assistance on 
18  July  2007.  The  Spanish  authorities  estimated 
the  direct  damage  at 
EUR 66.172 million,  which  represented  only  2%  of  the  applicable  threshold  for 
mobilising  the  Fund  for  major  disasters  (EUR 3 267 million).  As  total  damage 
remained  below  the  normal  threshold  for  mobilising  the  Fund  the  application  was 
examined under the criteria for “extraordinary regional disaster”. 

The  Commission  considered  that,  in  order  for  the  specific  criteria  for  regional 
disasters  to  be  meaningful  in  the  national  context  a  distinction  needs  to  be  drawn 
between  serious  regional  events  and  those  that  are  merely  local.  A  disaster 
representing 2% of the normal threshold for mobilising the Fund was not considered 
to be falling within the rationale of the Fund. 

One of the conditions for the exceptional mobilisation of the Fund is that the major 
part of the population in the region to which the application relates must be affected. 
The  application  related  to  floods  in  the  two  provinces  of  Ciudad  Real  with  a 
population  of  489  200  inhabitants  and  Toledo  (576 200  inhabitants)  within  the 
autonomous region of Castilla-La Mancha which has a total population of 1 839 900 
(figures  from  2004).  Within  these  provinces  the  floods  have  affected  a  number  of 
municipalities,  with  a  total  population  of  71 397.  The  population  in  these 
municipalities represent only a very small part of the population of the provinces to 
which they belong. While Regulation 2012/2002 does not set out a minimum size in 
terms of population or territory for the affected region to be eligible the Commission 
considered  that  these  should  be  relevant  in  the  economic  context  of  the  country 
concerned.  In  the  present  case  the  disaster  had  locally  caused  severe  damage  but 
remained limited to a small territory with a relatively small number of people. 

The  flooding  caused  damage  to  the  road  and  water  infrastructure,  as  well  as  to 
municipal  facilities,  educational,  health  care  and  sports  facilities,  street  lighting, 
numerous homes, agriculture, and part of the industrial and services base. While the 
application left no doubt that the flood and heavy rainfall locally caused damage to 
infrastructures  and  agriculture,  it  presented  no  convincing  evidence  for  serious  and 

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lasting  repercussions  on  living  conditions  and  the  economic  stability  of  the  region. 
Although the application was limited to the areas most affected, only 1989 requests 
for compensation for damage to homes had been received (out of a total population 
in  the  affected  areas  of  71397).  In  addition,  the  Commission  considered  that  the 
concept  of  regional  economic  stability  had  to  be  assessed  in  the  wider  regional 
context. On this basis, the Commission concluded that the application did not meet 
the requirements in relation to "serious and lasting repercussion on living conditions 
and  the  economic  stability  of  the  region".  The  Commission  decided  on  23  January 
2008 not to mobilise the Fund and informed the Spanish authorities accordingly. 

United Kingdom  

In  June  and  July  2007,  following  successive  waves  of  unusually  intensive  rainfall, 
different parts of the United Kingdom were affected by major floods causing severe 
damage.  Subsequently,  on  20  August  2007,  the  UK  authorities  submitted  an 
application for financial assistance from the Solidarity Fund. Additional information 
requested  by  the  Commission  services  necessary  to  complete  the  assessment  was 
received on 26 October 2007. 

Total direct damage caused by the flooding amounts to over EUR 4.6 billion. As this 
amount  exceeds  the  threshold  of  EUR 3.267  billion  applicable  to  the  UK  for 
triggering  the  Solidarity  Fund  (i.e.  EUR 3 billion  in  2002  prices)  the  disaster 
qualified  as  a  “major  natural  disaster”  and  fell  thus  within  the  main  field  of 
application of Solidarity Fund. 

The Commission decided on 10 December 2007 to propose to the budget authority to 
mobilise 
to 
EUR 162.388 million. 

the  Solidarity  Fund  and 

financial  aid  amounting 

to  grant 

Cyprus 

Following forest fires in Cyprus on 29 June 2007, the Cypriot authorities submitted 
an application for assistance on 4 September 2007. The damage was estimated by the 
Cypriot  authorities  at  €  38.2  million,  representing  48%  of  the  normal  threshold  for 
mobilising the Fund applicable to Cyprus (EUR 79.895 million). The application was 
therefore assessed under the criteria for “extraordinary regional disaster”. 

The  area  burnt  affected  mainly  forest  areas  in  the  National  Forest  Park  and  was 
claimed  to  be  larger  than  the  accumulated  area  destroyed  by  all  fires  on  Cyprus 
during the last 7 years. However, the effect on the population was extremely limited. 
The Cypriot authorities identified three neighbouring villages with a total population 
of  1703  as  affected  region  (i.e.  0.2%  of  the  population  of  Cyprus).  Within  these 
villages, 58% of households had been affected. The Commission considered that the 
size of population/territory of the affected region should be relevant in the economic 
context  of  the  country  concerned.  A  disaster  affecting  only  an  extremely  small 
number  of  people  (around  988  inhabitants)  did  not  appear  to  be  falling  within  the 
rationale of the Solidarity Fund.  

In  addition,  there  was  no  clear  evidence  of  "serious  and  lasting  repercussions  on 
living conditions". According to the Cypriot authorities the fire caused rather limited 
damage to basic infrastructure (transport, water and electricity), which was restored 

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in the following weeks. Residential damages was limited to EUR 601920 (on average 
EUR 353 per person in the affected villages) and represented only some 1.5% of total 
damage. Accordingly, the Commission considered that the application did not meet 
all  requirements  for  an  “extraordinary  regional  disaster”.  The  Commission  decided 
on  23  January  2008  not  to  mobilise  the  Fund  and  informed  the  Cypriot  authorities 
accordingly. 

Italy 

On  27  September  2007  the  Italian  authorities  presented  a  set  of  Solidarity  Fund 
applications,  relating  to  nine  different  regions  of  Italy.  However,  as  the  ten  week 
deadline for presenting Solidarity Fund applications after the date of the first damage 
was not respected in any of the nine applications, the Italian authorities were notified 
by letter of 29 October 2007 that their applications were not admissible.  

Spain (Canary island fires) 

In  July/August  2007,  the  three  islands  of  Gran  Canaria,  Tenerife  and  La  Gomera 
were  hit  by  forest  fires.  The  Spanish  authorities  on  3  October  2007  submitted  an 
application for financial assistance. The direct damage was estimated at EUR 144.2 
million. As this amount represents 4.4% of the normal threshold for mobilising the 
Fund, the application was based on the “extraordinary regional disaster” criterion. 

The affected region consisted of the three islands of Gran Canaria, Tenerife and La 
Gomera, with a total population of 1 681 946 persons. As a result of the fires, 35 000 
hectares  of  land  were  damaged  and  it  was  necessary  to  evacuate  12  000  persons 
(0.7%  of  the  affected  population).  The  disaster  seriously  damaged  road  and  water 
infrastructures, housing, agriculture, livestock, business and the natural environment. 
Although the Commission considered it likely that the population in close proximity 
to  the  fires  had  suffered  in  one  way  or  another  from  the  disaster,  no  evidence  was 
presented  to  show  that  the  major  part  of  the  total  population  living  on  the  three 
islands of Gran Canaria, Tenerife and La Gomera has been affected.  

As regards the requirement of serious and lasting repercussions on living conditions 
and economic stability of the region, the application stated in general terms that there 
are  lasting  effects  on  the  natural  environment,  infrastructure  and  resources,  which 
will  affect  the  population's  living  conditions  in  the  damaged  area.  However,  no 
convincing evidence was presented to support this statement. As regards serious and 
lasting  repercussions  on  economic  stability  of  the  affected  region,  the  Spanish 
authorities indicated in the application that these cannot be assessed in the short term 
and no further evidence was provided.  

Accordingly,  the  Commission  considered  that  the  application  did  not  meet  all 
requirements  in  the  Regulation  for  an  “extraordinary  regional  disaster”.  The 
Commission  decided  in  early  2008  not  to  mobilise  the  Fund  and  informed  the 
Spanish authorities accordingly. 

France (Martinique) 

In August 2007 the French overseas departments of Martinique and Guadeloupe, two 
islands of the French Antilles, were affected by the hurricane "Dean" causing severe 

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damage to infrastructures and different sectors of the economy. France submitted an 
application for financial assistance from the EU Solidarity Fund on 26 October 2007. 
Additional information from the French authorities was received at the Commission 
on 8 January 2008. At the end of 2007 the application was still being assessed and a 
Commission decision on the mobilisation of the Fund had not yet been taken.  

Greece 

In  August  2007  a  fairly  extensive  part  of  Greece  was  affected  by  forest  fires.  The 
fires were most intense and most widespread in the regions of Western Greece, the 
Peloponnese,  Continental  Greece  and  Attica.  The  disaster  caused  major  damage  to 
different  sectors  of  the  economy,  in  particular  to  agriculture,  and  destroyed 
infrastructures  in  the  fields  of  transport,  telecommunications,  energy  distribution, 
water  and  waste  water  and  natural  disaster  prevention.  The  disaster  also  caused 
important damage to the natural environment, cultural monuments, schools, hospitals 
and  fire-fighting  services.  Substantive  costs  have  been  incurred  for  providing 
temporary accommodation and funding rescue services to meet the immediate needs 
of the population concerned. 65 people died in the Peloponnese, in Western Greece 
and in Evvoia as a result of the fires.  

The Greek authorities asked for Solidarity Fund assistance on 30 October 2007 and 
completed  the  application  on  24  January  2008.  At  the  end  of  2007  the  application 
was still being assessed and a Commission decision on the mobilisation of the Fund 
had not yet been taken. 

Slovenia 

In  mid  September  2007  a  greater  part  of  Slovenia  was  affected  by  heavy  rain  and 
storm leading to severe floods and landslides. The Slovenian authorities submitted an 
application for Solidarity Fund assistance on 19 November 2007.  

The  disaster  caused  significant  damage  to  infrastructure  (transport,  electricity, 
water). More than 350 km of national roads  and  more  than  1  600  km  of  municipal 
and  forest  roads  were  damaged,  as  were  more  than  17  km  of  water  infrastructure, 
more  than  10  km  of  the  electricity  grid,  48  water  reservoirs  and  147  bridges.  In 
addition,  the  disaster  caused  significant  damage  to  public  and  private  buildings, 
business, agriculture and monuments of cultural heritage. 

At  the  end  of  2007  the  application  was  still  being  assessed  and  a  Commission 
decision on the mobilisation of the Fund had not yet been taken. 

3. 

FINANCING 

The two cases from 2006 for which the budget procedure had not yet been completed 
before  the  end  of  the  year  (floods  in  Hungary  and  Greece)  were  dealt  with  in  one 
single  amending  budget.  Preliminary  Draft  Amending  Budget  No 2/20072  was 
approved by the Budgetary Authority on 7 June 2007. The payments could be made 

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COM(2007)148 final of 28.3.2007 

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after  adoption  of  the  grant  decision  and  after  the  implementation  agreement  was 
signed.  

In  2007  the  Fund  was  mobilised  for  two  new  cases  (storm  "Kyrill"  in  Germany; 
cyclone  "Gamède"  in  France/La  Réunion).  The  amounts  of  aid  in  each  case  were 
determined  on  the  basis  of  the  standard  method  previously  developed  by  the 
Commission and explained in detail in the 2002/2003 annual report (see also Annex 
3  of  the  present  report).  Amending  Budget  No 6/20073  was  approved  by  the 
Budgetary  Authority  on  24  October  2007.  The  payments  could  be  made  after 
adoption  of  the  grant  decision  and  after  the  implementation  agreement  was  signed. 
The amounts of aid in 2007 were the following: 

Beneficiary

Disaster 

Category 

Hungary 

Flooding 

Greece 

Flooding 

Germany 

Storm 

Tropical cyclone 

France/La 
Réunion 

Total 

major 

regional 

major 

regional/ 
ultraperipheral 

Amount of 
aid (EUR) 

15°063°587

9°306°527

166°905°985

5°290°000

196°566°099

For applications from the United Kingdom (Floods), Greece (Forest Fires), Slovenia 
(Floods)  and  France/Martinique  (Hurricane  DEAN)  received  in  2007  the  budget 
procedures could not be completed before the end of the year. For these applications 
the  Commission  presented  Preliminary  Draft  Amending  Budgets  No 1/20084  and 
No 3/20085 which were approved by the Budgetary Authority on 9 April 2008 and 5 
June  2008  respectively  and  Preliminary  Draft  Amending  Budget  No 7/20086;  the 
annual report of next year will report on these. 

4. 

MONITORING 

On  23  January  2007,  the  Commission  carried  out  a  monitoring  visit  to  Austria,  in 
order  to  be  informed  of  the  system  put  in  place  by  the  Austrian  authorities  for  the 
implementation  of  the  Solidarity  Fund  grant  made  following  the  severe  floods  in 
Vorarlberg and Tyrol in August 2005, to be updated on the progress in implementing 
the grant and to discuss specific questions by the Austrian authorities. 

As  on  previous  occasions  the  visit  was  highly  welcomed  by  the  authorities 
concerned. From the Commission point of view, the visit allowed to get assurance as 
to the implementation system put in place and good progress made. On the basis of 
the information received it was felt that the implementation is progressing well and 
that  appropriate  steps  had  been  made  to  ensure  respect  for  monitoring  and  control 
obligations. 

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COM(2007)527 final of 13.09.2007 
COM(2008)15 final of 18.01.2008 
COM(2008)201final of 14.04.2008 
COM(2008)556 final of 15.09.2008 

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5. 

CLOSURES 

Article  8(2)  of  Regulation  2012/2002  states  that  no  later  than  six  months  after  the 
expiry  of  the  one-year  period  from  the  date  of  disbursement  of  the  grant,  the 
beneficiary  State  shall  present  a  report  on  the  financial  execution  of  the  grant 
(hereinafter: an “implementation report”)with a statement justifying the expenditure 
(hereinafter:  a  “validity  statement”).  At  the  end  of  this  procedure,  the  Commission 
shall wind up the assistance from the Fund. 

As  regards  the  closure  of  assistance  of  the  Maltese  case  (2003  flooding)  for  which 
the  implementation  report  was  received  in  on  10  May  2006  and  completed  on 
28 June  2007,  the  Commission  noted  that  the  full  amount  of  the  EUSF  grant  (i.e. 
EUR 961 220) has been spent by the Maltese authorities. The Commission wound up 
the assistance on 3 July 2007. 

In  2007,  the  Commission  received  final  implementation  reports  for  grants  made  in 
2005  and  2006  from  Slovakia  (storm  in  2004),  Sweden,  Estonia,  Latvia  and 
Lithuania (all relating to a storm in 2005). At the end of the period covered by this 
annual report the assessment of these implementation reports was still ongoing. 

6. 

CONCLUSIONS 

The Commission received a total of 19 new applications in 2007, the highest number 
of applications in one year since the Fund was set up. Only four of these applications 
related  to  a  major  natural  disaster.  The  other  15  applications  were  presented  under 
the regional disaster criteria, whereby nine  of these applications had to be declared 
not  admissible  as  they  were  presented  outside  the  10  week  application  period  laid 
down in the Regulation.  

The  new  applications  received  in  2007  once  again  confirmed  the  general  trend  by 
which  the  majority  of  applications  for  Solidarity  Fund  assistance  are  not  presented 
for  major  disasters  which  represent  the  main  scope  of  the  Fund,  but  under  the 
exceptional  criteria  for  regional  disasters.  These  criteria  -  which  according  to  the 
Regulation  are  to  be  examined  by  the  Commission  “with  the  utmost  rigour”  - 
continue to be relatively difficult to meet. The rate of unsuccessful applications for 
the  regional  (exceptional)  criteria,  at  almost  two-thirds,  continues  to  be  high.  For 
major disaster applications for which only a single quantitative criterion applies, the 
positive assessments have so far a rate of 100%. 

In 2007, Member States and the Commission have once again invested considerable 
time  and  effort  in,  respectively,  preparing  and  assessing  applications  for  smaller 
regional  disasters that  regularly lead to  rejections.  One  of  the  major  changes in the 
Commission's  proposal  of  6  April  2005  for  a  new  Solidarity  Fund  Regulation  is 
therefore to resort only to quantitative thresholds for the level of damage required to 
trigger utilization of the Fund, which would  improve the transparency of the Fund. 
This  would  help  to  avoid  considerable  efforts  of  preparing  applications  which  are 
subsequently rejected because the exceptional criteria are very difficult to meet. With 
the new Solidarity Fund regulation, the national authorities would have a clearer idea 
of when the Fund is likely to be able to support them in recovering from a disaster. 

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In 2007, the Commission undertook a series of attempts to convince Member States 
and  in  particular  the  incoming  German  and  Portuguese  Council  presidencies  to  re-
launch  the  debate  on  the  Commission's  proposal  for  a  new  Solidarity  Fund 
Regulation, which had been largely supported in the European Parliament. However, 
by the end of 2007 no progress was made in the Council.  

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Annex 1 
European Union Solidarity Fund applications received in 2007 

Applicant Country 

DE 

FR 

ES 

ES 

UK 

CY 

ES 

IT 

FR 

EL 

SI 

Name and nature of 
disaster 

Storm "Kyrill" 

La Réunion 
"Gamède" 

EL Hierro 
flooding 

La Mancha 
flooding 

Flooding 

Forest fires 

Forest fires 

9 forest fire 
applications 

Martinique 
"Dean" 

Forest fires 

Floods 

First damage date 

18/01/07 

24/02/07 

26/01/07 

22/05/07 

12/06/07 

29/06/07 

27/07/07 

Application date* 

29/03/07 

04/05/07 

29/03/07 

19/07/07 

20/8/07 

04/09/07 

3/10/07 

Complete information 
available on 
Major disaster threshold 
(m€) 
Total direct damage 
(m€)** 

Category 

12/07/07 

17/07/07 

- 

- 

22/10/07 

3 266.629 

3 266.629 

3 266.629 

3 266.629 

3 266.629 

4687.3 

major 

211.6 

17.86 

66.17 

regional 

regional 

regional 

4612 

major 

- 

- 

79.9 

38.2 

Damage/threshold 

143.49% 

6.48% 

0.55% 

2.03% 

141.19% 

47.8% 

4.41% 

Cost of eligible emergency 
operations (m€)** 

Eligible cost/ total 
damage 

1025 

24 

14.2 

35 

356.7 

1.83% 

12.98 

21.87% 

11.34% 

79.54% 

52.9% 

7.73% 

4.79% 

9% 

Aid/eligible cost 

16.28% 

22.04% 

Aid rate 
(% of total damage) 

3.56% 

2.5% 

- 

- 

- 

- 

Date of grant decision 

14/12/07 

11/12/07 

rejected 2007 

rejected 2007 

Date of Implementation 
agreement 

18/12/07 

18/12/07 

Aid granted (EUR) 

166 905 985 

5 290 000 

- 

- 

- 

- 

45.53% 

3.52% 

2008 

2008 

(162 387 985) 

* 
** 
*** 

Registration of initial application at Commission 
As accepted by Commission 
10 week application deadline missed in all nine cases 

*** 

*** 

- 

17/8/07 

23/08/07 

18/09/07 

26/10/07 

30/10/07 

19/11/07 

- 

20/12/07 

- 

3 266.629 

3 266.629 

3 266.629 

1 066.497 

164.272 

144.21 

- 

511.2 

2118.27 

223.28 

major 

regional 

regional 

regional 

regional 

major 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

15.65% 

198.62% 

135.92% 

119.9 

23.45% 

10.66 

2.5 

2008 

2008 

1007 

154.39 

47.52% 

69.15% 

8.91% 

4.24% 

2008 

2008 

4.95% 

3.42% 

2008 

2008 

(12 780 000) 

(89 769 010) 

(7 647 220) 

- 

- 

- 

- 

rejected 2007 

rejected 2007 

Not admissable 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

EN 

12 

EN 

 
  
Annex 2 
Criteria to mobilise the EU Solidarity Fund 

Extract from Council Regulation 2012/2002: 

“Article 2: 

1.  At  the  request  of  a  Member  State  or  country  involved  in  accession  negotiations  with  the 
European Union, hereinafter referred to as ‘beneficiary State’, assistance from the Fund may 
be  mainly  mobilised  when  a  major  natural  disaster  with  serious  repercussions  on  living 
conditions,  the  natural  environment  or  the  economy  in  one  or  more  regions  or  one  or  more 
countries occurs on the territory of that State. 

2. A ‘major disaster’ within the meaning of this Regulation means any disaster resulting, in 
at least one of the States concerned, in damage estimated either at over EUR 3 billion in 2002 
prices, or more than 0,6 % of its GNI. 

By  way  of  exception,  a  neighbouring  Member  State  or  country  involved  in  accession 
negotiations  with  the  European  Union,  which  has  been  affected  by  the  same  disaster  can 
also benefit from assistance from the Fund. 

However, under exceptional circumstances, even when the quantitative criteria laid down in 
the first subparagraph are not met, a region could also benefit from assistance from the Fund, 
where  that  region  has  been  affected  by  an  extraordinary  disaster,  mainly  a  natural  one, 
affecting  the  major  part  of  its  population,  with  serious  and  lasting  repercussions  on  living 
conditions  and  the  economic  stability  of  the  region.  Total  annual  assistance  under  this 
subparagraph  shall  be  limited  to  no  more  than  7,5  %  of  the  annual  amount  available  to  the 
Fund. Particular focus will be on remote or isolated regions, such as the insular and outermost 
regions  as  defined  in  Article  299(2)  of  the  Treaty.  The  Commission  shall  examine  with  the 
utmost rigour any requests which are submitted to it under this subparagraph.” 

EN 

13 

   EN 

 
Annex 3 
Determination of the amount of aid 

A  progressive  system  in  two  brackets  is  applied  whereby  a  country  affected  by  a  disaster 
receives  a  lower  rate  of  aid  of  2.5%  for  the  part  of  total  direct  damage  below  the  “major 
disaster” threshold and a higher share of aid of 6% for the part of the damage exceeding the 
threshold. The two amounts are added up. 

The threshold is the level of damage defined by the Regulation to trigger the intervention of 
the  Fund,  i.e.  0.6%  of  GNI  or  EUR 3 billion  in  2002  prices.  This  element  ensures  that  the 
relative capacity of a State to deal itself with a disaster is taken into account. It also ensures 
that for the same amount of damage relatively poorer countries receive more aid in absolute 
terms than richer ones. For extraordinary regional disasters the same method is being applied, 
meaning consequently that countries affected by those disasters, which by definition remain 
below the threshold, receive 2.5 % of total direct damage in aid. 

EN 

14 

   EN 

 
Annex 4 
Thresholds for major disasters applicable in 2007 
(based on 2005 figures for Gross National Income) 

Country 

GNI 2005 

0.6% of GNI 

(Million €) 

Major disaster 
threshold 2007 

AT  ÖSTERREICH 
BE  BELGIQUE-BELGIË 
BG  BALGARIJA 
CY  KYPROS 
CZ  ČESKA REPUBLIKA 
DE  DEUTSCHLAND 
DK  DANMARK 
EESTI 
EE 
ELLADA 
EL 
ESPAÑA 
ES 
SUOMI/FINLAND 
FI 
FR 
FRANCE 
HR  HRVATSKA 
HU  MAGYARORSZÁG 
IE 
IT 
LT 
LU  LUXEMBOURG (G-D) 
LV  LATVIJA 
MT  MALTA 
NL  NEDERLAND 
POLSKA 
PL 
PT 
PORTUGAL 
RO  ROMÂNIA 
SE 
SI 
SK 
TR 
UK  UNITED KINGDOM 
* ~ EUR 3 billion in 2002 prices 
** GDP (GNI not available) 

SVERIGE 
SLOVENIJA 
SLOVENSKÁ REPUBLIKA 
TÜRKIYE 

IRELAND 
ITALIA 
LIETUVA 

242 610 
301 089 
21 700 
13 316 
95 308 
2 248 160 
208 981 
10 528 
177 750 
893 165 
157 346 
1 718 822 
30 947** 
83 689 
137 719 
1 412 607 
20 296 
24 018 
12 655 
4 395 
510 183 
235 325 
145 347 
77 011 
286 933 
27 379 
37 141 
290 025 
1 830 312 

1 455.660 
1 806.535 
130.200 
79.895 
571.847 
13 488.960 
1 253.883 
63.168 
1 066.497 
5 358.990 
944.076 
10 312.933 
185.681 
502.134 
826.316 
8 475.641 
121.774 
144.106 
75.932 
26.369 
3 061.098 
1 411.952 
872.080 
462.068 
1 721.600 
164.272 
222.843 
1 740.151 
10 981.869 

1 455.660 
1 806.535 
130.200 
79.895 
571.847 
3 266.629* 
1 253.883 
63.168 
1 066.497 
3 266.629* 
944.076 
3 266.629* 
1.114 
502.134 
826.316 
3 266.629 
121.774 
144.106 
75.932 
26.369 
3 061.098* 
1 411.952 
872.080 
462.068 
1 721.600 
164.272 
222.843 
10.441 
3 266.629* 

EN 

15 

   EN