European Parliament resolution of 30 May 2018 on the proposal for a decision of the European Parliament and of the Council on the mobilisation of the European Union Solidarity Fund to provide assistance to Greece, Spain, France and Portugal (COM(2018)0150 – C8-0039/2018 – 2018/2029(BUD))
Date: 2018-05-30
Institutions: Committee on Budgets, Committee on Regional Development, European Parliament
Subjects: European Union Solidarity Fund, France, Greece, Portugal, Spain, aid to disaster victims, commitment of expenditure, general budget (EU), natural disaster, payment appropriation








C_2020076EN.01023201.xml










9.3.2020   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 76/232






P8_TA(2018)0217
Mobilisation of the EU Solidarity Fund to provide assistance to Greece, Spain, France and Portugal
European Parliament resolution of 30 May 2018 on the proposal for a decision of the European Parliament and of the Council on the mobilisation of the European Union Solidarity Fund to provide assistance to Greece, Spain, France and Portugal (COM(2018)0150 – C8-0039/2018 – 2018/2029(BUD))
(2020/C 76/34)

The European Parliament,







—


having regard to the Commission proposal to the European Parliament and the Council (COM(2018)0150 – C8-0039/2018),










—


having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 2012/2002 of 11 November 2002 establishing the European Union Solidarity Fund (1),










—


having regard to Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1311/2013 of 2 December 2013 laying down the multiannual financial framework for the years 2014-2020 (2), and in particular Article 10 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 management (3), and in particular point 11 thereof,










—


having regard to the letter from the Committee on Regional Development,










—


having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgets (A8-0175/2018),












1.


Welcomes the decision as a sign of the Union’s solidarity with Union citizens and regions hit by natural disasters;












2.


Regrets the number of lives lost in natural disasters in the Union in 2017; calls on Member States to invest in the prevention of catastrophes through the mobilisation of the necessary means and the use of European structural and investment funds to avoid the loss of human lives in the future;












3.


Supports Member States using European structural and investment funds for the reconstruction of the affected regions; invites the Commission to support and rapidly approve the financial reallocation of the partnership agreements requested by Member States to this end;












4.


Calls on Member States to utilise the financial contribution from the European Union Solidarity Fund (EUSF) in a transparent way, guaranteeing a fair distribution throughout the affected regions;












5.


Welcomes the proposal from the Commission for a new EU Civil Protection Mechanism as a way to prevent and act in situations of natural disasters; believes that the EU Civil Protection Mechanism represents a materialisation of solidarity in the Union, in line with the EUSF; recalls, in this context, the importance of continuing to give the outermost regions special EUSF access conditions to help them cope with their high level of exposure to natural disasters; calls, in situations where the collection of information is difficult and where justified by the scale of the natural disaster, for more flexibility in the deadline for filing a request for the mobilisation and use of EUSF funds;












6.


Approves the decision annexed to this resolution;












7.


Instructs its President to sign the decision with the President of the Council and arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union;












8.


Instructs its President to forward this resolution, including its annex, to the Council and the Commission.






(1)  OJ L 311, 14.11.2002, p. 3.

(2)  OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 884.

(3)  OJ C 373, 20.12.2013, p. 1.




ANNEX

DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL


on the mobilisation of the European Union Solidarity Fund to provide assistance to Greece, Spain, France and Portugal


(The text of this annex is not reproduced here since it corresponds to the final act, Decision (EU) 2018/846.)