Proposal for a DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on the mobilisation of the EU Solidarity Fund
Date: 2015-07-23
Institutions: Directorate-General for Budget, European Commission
Subjects: Bulgaria, Greece, aid to disaster victims, bad weather, commitment of expenditure, financial aid, flood, fund (EU), general budget (EU)

EUROPEAN 
COMMISSION 

Brussels, 23.7.2015  
COM(2015) 370 final 

Proposal for a 

DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

on the mobilisation of the EU Solidarity Fund 

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INFORMATION AND CONDITIONS JUSTIFYING THE MOBILISATION OF THE 
EU SOLIDARITY FUND 

1. 

INTRODUCTION 

This decision covers the mobilisation of the European Union Solidarity Fund (the "Fund") for 
an  amount  of  EUR 16 274 765  following  three  disasters  in  Bulgaria  and  Greece.  This 
mobilisation  will  be  financed  for  the  full  amount  through  the  partial  use  of  the 
EUR 50 000 000  in  commitment  and  payment  appropriations  already  entered  into  the  2015 
budget, and as such an amending budget is not required.  

2. 

INFORMATION AND CONDITIONS  

In  late  April  2015  the  Commission  received  three  applications  for  the  Fund  for  financial 
assistance  relating  to  a  disaster  in  Bulgaria  (severe  winter  conditions)  and  two  disasters  in 
Greece  (Evros  and  Central  Greece  flooding)  which  had  occurred  in  January  and  February 
2015.  The  Commission  has  carried  out  a  thorough  examination  of  all  three  applications  in 
accordance with Council Regulation (EC) No 2012/2002 of 11 November 2002 establishing 
the European Union Solidarity Fund1 (hereafter "the Regulation"), in particular with Articles 
2, 3 and 4 thereof. The most important elements of the assessments are set out below. 

2.1. 

BULGARIA  

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

At the end of January and during early February 2015 major parts of Bulgaria suffered 
from heavy rainfall, snow, floods and landslides which caused considerable damage to 
public  infrastructure,  businesses,  private  homes  and  assets,  and  harmed  the 
agricultural sector. 

The application from Bulgaria was received on 24 April 2015, within the deadline of 
12 weeks after the first damage was recorded on 30 January 2015. 

The  Commission  assessed  that  the  different  disaster  events  in  Bulgaria  have  a 
common  meteorological  cause  of  natural  origin  and  therefore  fall  within  the  field  of 
application of the EUSF. 

(4)  When submitting its application Bulgaria requested the payment of an advance on the 
anticipated  contribution  from  the  EUSF.  Following  a  preliminary  assessment  of  the 
application the Commission concluded that the conditions laid down in Article 4a of 
the Regulation were met. Commission decision C(2015) 4179 ] awarded an advance 
amounting  to  EUR 637 782  which  represents  10%  of  the  anticipated  financial 
contribution from the Fund.  

(5) 

The  Bulgarian  authorities  estimate  the  total  direct  damage  caused  by  the  disaster  at 
EUR 243,305 million.  It  represents  0,622 %  of  Bulgaria’s  GNI  or  103,6 %  of  the 
“major disaster” threshold of EUR 234,871 million applicable to Bulgaria in 2015 (i.e. 
0,6 %  of  GNI  based  on  2013  data)  for  mobilising  the  EUSF.  As  the  estimated  total 
direct damage exceeds the threshold the disaster qualifies as a “major natural disaster” 
within the meaning of Article 2(2) of the Regulation. 

1 

Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  2012/2002  of  11  November  2002  establishing  the  European  Union 
Solidarity Fund, OJ L 311 of 14.11.2002, p.3  

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(6) 

(7) 

(8) 

Total  direct  damage  is  the  basis  for  the  calculation  of  the  amount  of  the  financial 
contribution from the Fund. The financial contribution may only be used for essential 
emergency and recovery operations as defined in Article 3 of the Regulation. 

As regards the impact and consequenses of the disaster, the severe winter conditions 
affected  almost  the  whole  territory  of  Bulgaria.  It  was  reported  that  the  South-East 
region  was  the  hardest  hit  by  the  events.  Over  300  buildings  in  the  city  of  Burgas 
alone were flooded. Landslides destroyed important infrastructure. Dykes broke, many 
rivers (e.g. the Maritsa/Evros river) burst their banks and flooded agricultural land and 
forests.  Gusty  winds  destroyed  pine  forests,  caused  power  failures  and  disrupted  the 
communication networks; roads were blocked by fallen trees. 

The  cost  of  essential  emergency  operations  eligible  under  Article  3(2)  of  the 
Regulation  has  been  estimated  by  the  Bulgarian  authorities  at  EUR 239,225 million 
and has been broken down by types of operation. This amount represents over 98 % of 
the reported total damage. The Bulgarian authorities explained this disproportionately 
high share of public damage with the inability of local authorities to assess the private 
damage  properly  within  the  12  weeks  application  deadline.  Private  damage  is 
therefore to a large extent not included in the application. The largest share of the cost 
of  emergency  operations  is  over  EUR 97 million  and  concerns  the  securing  of 
preventive  infrastructures.  Over EUR 46 million  are  estimated  to  be  required  for  the 
restoration of transport infrastructure. 

(9) 

The  affected  regions  fall  under  the  category  of  "less  developed  regions"  under  the 
European  Structural  and  Investment  Funds  (2014-2020).  The  Bulgarian  authorities 
have  not  signalled  to  the  Commission  their  intention  to  reallocate  funding  from  the 
ESI Fund programme for Bulgaria towards recovery measures. 

(10)  As  regards  the  implementation  of  Union  legislation  on  disaster  risk  prevention  and 
management  related  to  the  nature  of  the  disaster  Bulgaria  has  transposed  Directive 
2007/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2007 on the 
assessment  and  management  of  flood  risks  (the  “Floods  Directive”)  in  2010  into 
national law and a preliminary flood risk assessment for each river basin district has 
been  conducted  based  on  a  methodology  for  flood  risk  and  flood  hazard  assessment 
developed by the Ministry of Environment and Water. 

(11)  At  the  date  of  submitting  the  application  Bulgaria  was  not  subject  to  infringement 
proceedings concerning Union legislation relating to the nature of the disaster. 

(12)  The  Bulgarian  authorities  indicated  that  damage  amounting  to  some  EUR 32 275  is 

covered by insurance. This amount was deducted from eligible cost. 

2.2. 

GREECE (floodings in the Evros and in the central and western regions) 

(1) 

(2) 

From  early February 2015,  Greece  was  affected  by  wide-spread  floodings  in  the 
broader area of the rivers Evros and Ardas in the East Macedonia and Thrace Region 
causing  destruction  of  essential  infrastructure,  public  buildings,  private  homes, 
businesses and in agriculture. 

During  the  same  period  major  parts  of  central  and  western  Greece  including  the 
regions of Epirus, West Greece, Central Greece and Thessaly were affected by similar 
events causing even higher damage than in Eastern Macedonia.  

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(3) 

(4) 

Greece submitted two applications for a financial contribution from the Fund both on 
23 April 2015, within the deadline of 12 weeks after the first damage was recorded on 
4  February  2015  (Evros)  and  1  February  (central  and  western  regions).  The 
applications were submitted as 'regional disasters' under article 2(3) of the Regulation. 
In  all,  five  NUTS  2  regions  were  affected  by  the  disaster:  The  East  Macedonia  and 
Thrace region (Evros flooding) as well as the Epirus, West Greece, Central Greece and 
Thessaly regions (for central and western Greece flooding). 

The assessment by the Commission however revealed that the events in Greece (and 
the major disaster in Bulgaria) are related and have the same meteorological origins. 
The  Commission  therefore  decided  to  treat  the  Greek  cases  as  a  single  regional 
disaster as laid down in Article 2(3) of the Regulation. The disaster is of natural origin 
and therefore falls within the field of application of the EUSF. 

(5)  Merging  the  two  applications  has  no  impact  on  the  amount  of  the  EUSF  financial 
contribution  while  considerably  reducing  the  administrative  burden  on  Greece  from 
implementation and reporting. 

(6)  When submitting its applications Greece requested the payment of an advance on the 
anticipated  contributions  from  the  EUSF. Following  a  preliminary  assessment  of  the 
applications, and before deciding to merge them, the Commission concluded that the 
conditions laid down in Article 4a of the Regulation were met in both cases. 

(7) 

(8) 

(9) 

The  Greek  authorities  estimate  the  cumulated  total  direct  damage  caused  by  the 
flooding  events  at  EUR 395,878 million  (EUR 132,454 million  for  Evros  plus 
EUR 263,424 million for central and western Greece). This amount represents 36 % of 
the “major disaster” threshold of EUR 1 091,315 million applicable to Greece in 2015 
(i.e.  0,6 %  of  GNI  based  on  2013  data)  and  therefore  does  not  qualify  as  a  'major 
disaster'. Total direct damage does however represent 4,78 % of the weighted average 
GDP  of  the  five  concerned  NUTS  2  regions  and  thus  exceeds  by  far  the  1,5 % 
threshold for the weighted regional GDP laid down in the Regulation to qualify as a 
regional disaster. 

Total  direct  damage  is  the  basis  for  determining  the  amount  of  the  financial 
contribution from the Fund. The financial contribution may only be used for essential 
emergency and recovery operations as defined in Article 3 of the Regulation. 

Commission decision C(2015) 4180 awarded an advance amounting to EUR 331 135 
for Evros; Commission decision C(2015) 4181  an amount of EUR 658 560 for central 
and western Greece  which in  both  cases represents 10 %  of the  anticipated financial 
contribution from the Fund.  

(10)  As  regards  the  impact  and  consequenses  of  the  disasters,  the  flooding  in  the  Evros 
basin  particularly  affected  the  agricultural  sector.  About  17 500 ha  of  land  was 
flooded.  Farming  infrastructure,  warehouses  and  crops  were  destroyed.  150 km  of 
roads  were  damaged  or  destroyed.  Water  supply  and  sewerage  infrastructures  were 
damaged  in  17  settlements.  The  floods  also  caused  damage  to  public  buildings 
(schools, gyms, libraries). In the western, central and northern parts of Greece Epirus, 
Aitoloakarnania, Evrytania, Fthiotida, Thessaly and Peloponnese, suffered from heavy 
rainfall and storms, as well as heavy snowfall in the mountains, stormy south winds, 
both  in  offshore  and  onshore  areas.  The  event  triggered  power  failures,  rivers  burst 

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their banks and extensive landslides resulted in a number of mountainous settlements 
being isolated where inhabitants needed to be evacuated. The disaster caused damage 
to  more  than  60 %  of  the  road  network  in  Epirus.  Agriculture  suffered  from  loss  of 
crops  on  cultivated  land.  Stores,  homes,  commercial  businesses,  stock  farming  units 
and farms were affected. Some of Greece’s cultural heritage assets were at stake. The 
raging  waters  of  the  Arachthos  River  for  example  swept  away  the historic  bridge  of 
Plaka, in Tzoumerka. 

(11)  The  cost  of  essential  emergency  operations  eligible  under  Article  3(2)  of  the 
Regulation  has  been  estimated  by  the  Greek  authorities  at  EUR 308,445 million  and 
has been broken down by type of operation. The largest share of the cost concerns the 
transport  sector  of  over  EUR 196 million.  The  second  largest  share  of  cost  concerns 
the securing of preventive infrastructure amounting to EUR 83 million. 

(12)  The affected regions are "less developed regions" under the European Structural and 
Investment  Funds  (2014-2020).  The  Greek  authorities  have  not  signalled  to  the 
Commission  their  intention  to  reallocate  funding  from  the  ESI  Fund  programme 
towards recovery measures. 

(13)  As  regards  the  implementation  of  Union  legislation  on  disaster  risk  prevention  and 
management  there  is  currently  no  infringement  procedure  on-going.  An  updated 
preliminary  flood  risk  assessment  report  was  submitted  to  the  Commission  in 
November  2012.  Moreover,  as  part  of  the  National  Strategic  Reference  Framework 
the  OP  ‘Infrastructure,  Transport,  Environment  and  Sustainable 
2014-2020, 
Development’,  which  is  co-financed  by  the  European  Regional  Development  Fund 
and the Cohesion Fund, finances, under thematic goal 5, actions aiming to respond to 
the  negative  impact  of  climate  change  and  adapt  to  new  xerothermic  conditions  and 
possible extreme weather phenomena, such as flooding. 

(14)  At  the  date  of  submitting  the  application  Greece  was  not  subject  to  infringement 
proceedings concerning Union legislation relating to the nature of the disaster. 

(15)  The Greek authorities confirmed that there is no insurance coverage of eligible costs. 

3. 

FINANCING 

Council Regulation (EU, EURATOM) No 1311/2013 of 2 December 2013 laying down the 
multiannual financial framework for the years 2014-20202, and in particular Article 10 thereof 
allows  for  the  mobilisation  of  the  European  Union  Solidarity  Fund  (the  "Fund"),  within  an 
annual ceiling of EUR 500 million (2011 prices), over and above the relevant headings of the 
financial  framework.  The  conditions  of  eligibility  to  the  Fund  are  detailed  in  the  Council 
Regulation  (EC)  No  2012/2002  as  amended  by  Regulation  (EU)  No  661/2014  of  the 
European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  15  May  2014  establishing  the  European  Union 
Solidarity Fund. Point 11 of the Interinstitutional Agreement of 2 December 2013 between the 
European  Parliament,  the  Council  and  the  Commission  on  budgetary  discipline,  on 
cooperation  on  budgetary  matters  and  on  sound  financial  management3  (IIA)  set  on  the 
modalities for the mobilisation of the Fund. 

2 
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OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 884. 
OJ C 373, 20.12.2013, p. 1. 

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As solidarity was the central justification for the creation of the Fund, the Commission takes 
the view that aid from the Fund should be progressive. That means that, according to previous 
practice,  the  portion  of  the  damage  exceeding  the  “major  disaster”  threshold  for  mobilising 
the Fund (i.e. 0,6% of GNI or EUR 3 billion in 2011 prices, whichever is the lower amount) 
should give rise to higher aid intensity than damage up to the threshold. The rate applied in 
the past for defining the allocations for major disasters is 2,5% of total direct damage under 
he  threshold  and  6%  for  the  part  of  the  damage  above.  For  regional  disasters  and  disasters 
accepted under the “neighbouring country” provision the rate is 2,5%. 

The  contribution  may  not  exceed  the  estimated  total  cost  of  eligible  operations.  The 
methodology for calculating Solidarity Fund aid was set out in the 2002-2003 Annual Report 
on the Solidarity Fund and accepted by the Council and the European Parliament. 

On  the  basis  of  applications  from  Bulgaria  and  Greece,  the  calculation  of  the  aid  from  the 
Fund, based on the estimate of total direct damage caused is as follows: 

Direct 
damage 
(million €) 

Disaster 

Applied 
regional 
disaster 
threshold 
(million 
€) 

Major 
disaster 
threshold 
(million €) 

Total cost of 
eligible 
operations 
(million €) 

2,5 % of 
direct 
damage up 
to threshold 
€ 

6 % of 
direct 
damage 
above 
threshold 
€ 

Total amount 
of aid proposed 
€ 

BULGARIA 

243,305 

- 

234,871 

239,225 

5 871 775 

506 040 

6 377 815 

GREECE  

395,878 

124,354 

1 091,315 

308,445 

9 896 950 

- 

9 896 950 

TOTAL 

16 274 765 

An amount of EUR 50 000 000 was mobilised at the time of the adoption of the Budget 2015 
for the payment of advances and the corresponding commitment and payment approprations 
were  entered  into  the  budget.  In  the  light  of  the  examination  of  the  applications4  and 
considering  the  maximum  possible  grant  from  the  Fund,  the  Commission  proposes  to 
mobilise  the  Fund  for  these  two  cases  by  using  EUR 16 274 765  from  the  EUR 50 000 000 
specifically  mobilised  for  advances  on  the  general  budget  of  the  European  Union  for  the 
financial year 2015. 

As an amount of EUR 1 627 477 was already paid for the 10 % advances (EUR 637 782 for 
Bulgaria  and  EUR 989 695  for  Greece)  in  line  with  Article  4a(2)  of  the  Regulation,  the 
remaining  balance  to  be  paid  is  EUR 14 647 288  (EUR 5 740 033  for  Bulgaria  and 
EUR 8 907 255 for Greece). 

After the payment of the above-mentioned advances, the available balance for the payment of 
advances in the budget is EUR 48 372 523. In line with point 11 of the IIA which provides for 
the possibility  to reallocate  appropriations, the Commission is proposing  to draw from  such 
available balance the EUR 14 647 288 needed for Bulgaria and Greece. After the payment of 
the remaining balance of EUR 14 647 288, an amount of EUR 33 725 235 remains available 
for  further  advances  in  2015  in  case  of  need.  Based  on  the  information  currently  available, 

4 

Communication to the Commission C(2015) xxxx. 

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this is assessed to be sufficient in the event of new applications received during the remaining 
part of the year.  

In the event of disagreement, a trilogue procedure will be initiated in accordance with Point 
11 of the IIA5. 

5 

OJ C 373, 20.12.2013, p. 1. 

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Proposal for a 

DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

on the mobilisation of the EU Solidarity Fund 

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having regard to the Treaty on the functioning of the European Union, 

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 2012/2002 of 11 November 2002  establishing 
the European Union Solidarity Fund6 and in particular Article 4 (3) thereof, 

Having regard to the Interinstitutional Agreement of 2 December 2013 between the European 
Parliament,  the  Council  and  the  Commission  on  budgetary  discipline,  on  cooperation  in 
budgetary matters  and on sound financial management7, and in particular point 11 thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission8, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

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The  European  Union  Solidarity  Fund  (the  "Fund")  aims  to  enable  the  Union  to 
respond  in  a  rapid,  efficient  and  flexible  manner  to  emergency  situationsd  and  to 
show solidarity with the population of regions struck by disasters. 

The  Fund  is  not  to  exceed  a  maximum  annual  amount  of  EUR 500 million  (2011 
prices),  as  laid  down  in  Article  10  of  Council  Regulation  (EU,  Euratom)  N° 
1311/20139. 

Bulgaria has submitted an application to mobilise the Fund, concerning severe winter 
conditions. 

Greece has submitted two applications to mobilise the Fund, concerning floods. 

The  Commission  assessed  that  the  applications  meet  the  conditions  for  awarding 
Solidarity Fund aid laid down in Council Regulation 2012/2002. 

Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  2012/2002  of  11  November  2002  establishing  the  European  Union 
Solidarity Fund, (OJ L 311 of 14.11.2002, p.3). 
OJ C 373, 20.12.2013, p.1. 
OJ C […], […], p.[…]. 
Council Regulation (EU-Euratom) N° 1311/2013 laying down the multiannual financial framework for 
the years 2014-2020 (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 884). 

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(6) 

(7) 

The Fund should therefore be mobilised in order to provide a financial contribution 
for  the  full  amount  of  EUR 16 274 765  in  respect  of  the  applications  submitted  by 
Bulgaria and Greece. 

There    is  scope  for  reallocating  appropriations  in  accordance  with  the  second 
sentence  of  point  11  of  the  Interinstitutional  Agreement  of  2  December  2013.  The 
appropriations  for  advances  for  the  financial  year  2015  have  been  used  to  a  very 
limited extent, for the three applications which are the subject of this decision, and 
for which the remaining balance to be paid is EUR 14 647 288. Consequently the full 
amount  for  the  mobilisation  will  be  financed  through  the  use  of  the  available 
appropriations  in  the  general  budget  of  the  European  Union  for  the  financial  year 
2015, and no additional appropriations are needed. Therefore, there is no need for an 
amending  budget  as  this  decision  includes  all  the  necessary  elements  for  the 
mobilisation of the Fund. 

(8) 

In order to minimise the time taken to mobilise the Fund, this decision should apply 
from the date of its adoption, 

HAVE ADOPTED THIS DECISION: 

Article 1 

The  full  amount  of  the  present  mobilisation  shall  be  covered  by  the  specifically  mobilised 
appropriations  for  advances  in  the  Union  budget  for  the  financial  year  2015  available  on 
budget line 13 06 01. 

Article 2 

This Decision shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the 
European Union. 

 It shall apply from …[the date of its adoption] [Date to be inserted by the Parliament before 
the publication in OJ]. 

Done at Brussels, 

For the European Parliament 
The President 

For the Council 
The President 

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