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 and France in relation to natural disasters and to Albania, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czechia, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Spain in relation to a public health emergency
Date: 2021-03-24
Institutions: Directorate-General for Budget, European Commission
Subjects: EU Member State, European Union Solidarity Fund, aid to disaster victims, budget appropriation, commitment of expenditure, coronavirus disease, emergency aid, financial aid, general budget (EU), natural disaster

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 24.3.2021  COM(2021) 201 final 2021/0077 (BUD)  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 and France in relation to natural disasters and to Albania, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czechia, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Spain in relation to a public health emergency  
 
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1. 

CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

This  decision  covers  the  mobilisation  of  the  European  Union  Solidarity  Fund  (hereinafter 
referred  to  as  ‘the  EUSF’)  in  accordance  with  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  2012/20021 
(hereinafter  referred  to  as  ‘the  Regulation’)  for  an  amount  of  EUR 484 199 841  to  provide 
assistance to Greece and France further to regional  natural disasters that took place in these 
countries  in  the  course  of  2020,  as  well  as  to  20  Member  States  and  accession  countries 
(Albania,  Austria,  Belgium,  Croatia,  Czechia,  Estonia,  France,  Germany,  Greece,  Hungary, 
Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Spain) 
in response to the major public health emergency caused by the Covid-19 pandemic in early 
2020.  
This  mobilisation  is  accompanied  by  Draft  Amending  Budget  (DAB)  No 2/20212  that 
proposes  to  carry  over  the  amount  of  EUR 47 981 598  from  the  unused  2020  allocation 
directly to the EUSF operational budget line and DEC No 03/2021 that proposes to transfer 
the amount of EUR 427 543 750 from the Solidarity and Emergency Aid Reserve (hereinafter 
referred  as  ‘the  SEAR’)  reserve  line  to  the  EUSF  operational  budget  line,  both  in 
commitments and payments.  In accordance with Article 4a (4) of the EUSF Regulation, the 
amount  of  EUR 50 000 000  has  been  already  insribed  in  the  General  Budget  2021  (in 
commitments and payments) for the payment of advances. These appropriations will be used 
for  the  payment  of    EUR 8 674 493  in  relation  to  the  advances  for  the  regional  natural 
disasters  in  Greece  and  France.  The  advances  for  the  Covid-19  related  cases  amounting  to 
EUR 132 736 830 were paid from the 2020 EUSF allocation. 

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INFORMATION AND CONDITIONS 

Greece – floods in Sterea Ellada in August 2020 

On 29 October 2020, Greece applied for a financial contribution from the EUSF to 
finance  emergency  and  recovery  operations  following  the  floods  in  the  Region  of 
Sterea Ellada in August 2020. 

 The  application  was    submitted    within  the  deadline  of  12  weeks  after  the  first 
damage caused by the disaster was  recorded on  9 August 2020 and contains  all the 
information required under Article 4 of the Regulation. 

The disaster is of natural origin and therefore falls within the scope of the EUSF. 

The  application  presented  the  event  as  a  ‘regional  natural  disaster’  as  laid  down  in 
Article  2(3)  of  the  Regulation,  which  is  any  natural  disaster  in  a  region  at  NUTS 
level 2 of an eligible State resulting in direct damage exceeding 1,5% of that region's 
gross  domestic  product  (GDP).  The  Greek  authorities  estimate  the  total  direct 
damage  at  EUR 132 004 000.  The  damage  caused  represents  1,54%  of  the  GDP  of 
the concerned NUTS 2 level region Sterea Ellada and thus exceeds the threshold of 

Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  2012/2002  of  11 November  2002  establishing  the  European  Union 
Solidarity  Fund  (OJ  L  311,  14.11.2002,  p.  3)  as  amended  by  Regulation  (EU)  No  661/2014  of  the 
European Parliament and the Council of 15 May 2014 (OJ L 189, 27.6.2014, p. 143) and by Regulation 
(EU) No 461/2020 of the European Parliament and the Council of 30 March 2020 (OJ L 99, 31.3.2020, 
p. 9). 

COM(2021) 200. 

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EUR 128 286 000 (1,5% of regional GDP). The application from Greece is therefore 
eligible for a contribution from the EUSF. 

The total direct damage is the basis for the calculation of the amount of the financial 
contribution  from  the  EUSF.  The  financial  contribution  may  only  be  used  for 
essential  emergency  and  recovery  operations  as  defined  in  Article  3(2)  of  the 
Regulation, with the exception of small letter e). 

In its application of 29 October 2020, Greece requested the payment of an advance as 
laid  down  in  Article  4a  of  the  Regulation.  On  2  March  2021,  the  Commission 
adopted  Implementing  Decision  C(2021)  1507  awarding  an  advance  amounting  to 
EUR 330 010. The amount of the advance will be taken into account for calculating 
the balance of the contribution to the beneficiary State. The Commission will recover 
unduly paid advances. 

The  application  describes  in  detail  the  event  and  the  entity  of  the  damage.  On  9 
August  2020  the  summer  storm  system  “Thalia”,  which  2  days  earlier  affected 
northern Greece, intensified towards the central  and south-eastern mainland Greece 
causing  the  development  of  vertical  meteorological  activity  and  extreme  weather 
phenomena.  The  extreme  weather  brought  torrential  rainfall  (300  mm  of  rain  in  8 
hours), intense thunderstorms and strong winds. Torrential rains caused two rivers to 
burst their banks, blocked roads and led to  flooding of 3 000 homes, trapping both 
tourists  and  residents.  All  six  main  bridges  of  Lilas  River  collapsed  and  river 
suffered  eroded  road  embankments.  The  extreme  weather  has  created  extensive 
damage to the electricity grid, public infrastructure and private housing, large part of 
the regional road network become became temporarily or permanently unusable. Due 
to  the  sloping  topographic  landscape  the  rapid  rainfall  caused  catastrophic  flash 
floods  and  landslides  (mainly  in  the  catchment  areas  of  the  rivers).  The  floods  and 
mudslides took the lives of 8 people. Businesses and agricultural sector also suffered 
considerable damages. Overall, physical damage to the network infrastructure (water/ 
wastewater,  transport,  bridges,  energy  and  telecom  network)  constitute  the  biggest 
costs of the overall estimated total direct damage included in the application. 

Greece  estimated  the  cost  of  emergency  and  recovery  operations  eligible  under 
Article 3(2) of the Regulation at EUR 106 124 000 and presented it broken down by 
type  of  operation.  The  largest  share  (over  EUR 69 million)  concerns  the  costs  to 
restore  the  transport  infrastructure  (roads  and  bridges),  followed  by  the  cost  of 
cleaning up operations of disaster stricken area (over EUR 27 million).  

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

As  regards  the  implementation  of  Union  legislation  on  disaster  risk  prevention  and 
management, there is currently no infringement procedure on-going.  

In the context of the implementation of Directive 2007/60/EC on the assessment and 
management  of  flood  risks,  the  following  actions  were  completed:  the  Preliminary 
Flood  Risk  Assessment  Report  (March  2012),  identification  of  the  highrisk  flood 
prone areas in the country's 14 River Basin Districts and an update of the Preliminary 
Flood  Risk  Assessment  Report  (November  2012).  In  March  2017  flood  and  risk 
hazards for the 14 River Basin  Districts  of the  country  were completed.  The Flood 
Risk Management Plans of all River Basin Districts of the country were completed.  

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Greece- cyclone Ianos in September 2020 

On 9 December 2020, Greece applied for a financial contribution from the EUSF to 
finance  emergency  and  recovery  operations  following  the  damages  caused  by  the 
Mediterranean Cyclone Ianos in September 2020. 

The application was submitted within the deadline of 12 weeks after the first damage 
caused  by  the  disaster  was  recorded  on  19 September 2020  and  contains  all  the 
information required under Article 4 of the Regulation. 

The disaster is of natural origin and therefore falls within the scope of the EUSF. 

The  application  presented  the  event  as  a  ‘regional  natural  disaster’  as  laid  down  in 
Article  2(3)  of  the  Regulation,  which  is  any  natural  disaster  in  a  region  at  NUTS 
level 2 of an eligible State resulting in direct damage exceeding 1,5% of that region's 
gross domestic product (GDP) or 1,5% of the weighted GDP in the case of a multi-
regional disaster. The application relates to five NUTS level 2 Greek regions (Ionia 
Nisia  (EL62),  Sterea  Ellada  (EL64),  Ditiki  Ellada  (EL63),  Thessalia  (EL61), 
Peloponnisos  (EL65)).  The  Greek  authorities  estimate  the  total  direct  damage  at 
EUR 863 540 756.  The  damage  caused  represents  11,08%  of  the  weighted  GDP  of 
five concerned NUTS 2 level regions and thus exceeds the threshold. The application 
from Greece is therefore eligible for a contribution from the EUSF. 

The total direct damage is the basis for the calculation of the amount of the financial 
contribution  from  the  EUSF.  The  financial  contribution  may  only  be  used  for 
essential  emergency  and  recovery  operations  as  defined  in  Article  3(2)  of  the 
Regulation, with the exception of small letter e). 

In its application of 9 December 2020, Greece requested the payment of an advance 
as  laid  down  in  Article  4a  of  the  Regulation.  On  2  March  2021,  the  Commission 
adopted  Implementing  Decision  C(2021)  1511  awarding  an  advance  amounting  to 
EUR 2 158 852.  The  amount  of  the  advance  will  be  taken  into  account  for 
calculating the balance of the contribution to the beneficiary State. The Commission 
will recover unduly paid advances. 

The application describes in detail the event  and the entity of the damage. Cyclone 
Ianos, also known as Medicane Ianos, was a rare Mediterranean tropical-like cyclone 
that impacted Greece on 17-20 September 2020. This rare hurricane-like storm swept 
across  Greece  through  central  Thessaly,  hitting  affected  regions  with  high  winds 
reaching  120  km/h,  torrential  rain  and  flooding  which  caused  the  death  of  four 
people  and  huge  damages  to  houses  and  infrastructures.  Heavy  rainfall  hit  several 
river  basins  characterized  by  steep  morphology,  determining  severe  flood  waves. 
Cities Karditsa and Mouzaki received enormous quantities of water and were flooded 
for several days. A total of 5 000 properties were flooded in the city of Karditsa, 97% 
of the stores were damaged and 15 villages in the area were seriously destroyed. The 
electricity  supply  experienced  extensive  power  cuts  and  water  supply  were 
interrupted  in  many  villages.  The  railway  infrastructure  and  road  network  suffered 
serious  damage.  100  landslides  and  40  cut-off  bridges  were  recorded  in  the 
mountainous  area.  Tonnes  of  sludge  and  rubble,  hundreds  of  uprooted  trees  and 
branches caused problems on the road network. A state of emergency was declared 
for the islands of Ithaca, Kefalonia, and Zakynthos due to widespread flooding and 
power  cuts.  Emergency  services  reported  receiving  over  2  500  calls  for  assistance 
from  people  trapped  in  flooded  homes  and  cars  and  the  Greek  fire  service  rescued 
almost 1 000 people in the affected regions. 

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Greece  estimated  the  cost  of  emergency  and  recovery  operations  eligible  under 
Article 3(2) of the Regulation at EUR 507 660 619 and presented it broken down by 
type  of  operation.  The  largest  share  (over  EUR 293 million)  concerns  the  costs  to 
restore  the  transport  infrastructure,  followed  by  the  costs  to  restore  the  water  and 
wastewater infrastructure (over EUR 13 million).  

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

As  regards  the  implementation  of  Union  legislation  on  disaster  risk  prevention  and 
management, there is currently no infringement procedure on-going.  

In the context of the implementation of Directive 2007/60/EC on the assessment and 
management  of  flood  risks,  the  following  actions  were  completed:  the  Preliminary 
Flood  Risk  Assessment  Report  (March  2012),  identification  of  the  high  risk  flood 
prone areas in the country's 14 River Basin Districts and an update of the Preliminary 
Flood  Risk  Assessment  Report  (November  2012).  In  March  2017  flood  and  risk 
hazards for the 14 River Basin Districts of the Country were completed. The Flood 
Risk Management Plans of all River Basin Districts of the country were completed. 

Greece-  the  earthquake  in  the  islands  of  Samos,  Ikaria  and  Chios  in  October 
2020 

On 22 January 2021, Greece applied for a financial contribution  from  the EUSF to 
finance  emergency  and  recovery  operations  following  the  damages  caused  by  the 
earthquake in the islands of Samos, Ikaria and Chios, in October 2020. 

The application was submitted within the deadline of 12 weeks after the first damage 
caused  by  the  disaster  was  recorded  on  30  October 2020  and  contains  all  the 
information required under Article 4 of the Regulation. 

The disaster is of natural origin and therefore falls within the scope of  the EUSF. 

The  application  presented  the  event  as  a  ‘regional  natural  disaster’  as  laid  down  in 
Article  2(3)  of  the  Regulation,  which  is  any  natural  disaster  in  a  region  at  NUTS 
level 2 of an eligible State resulting in direct damage exceeding 1,5% of that region's 
gross  domestic  product  (GDP).  The  Greek  authorities  estimate  the  total  direct 
damage at EUR 101 252 020. The damage caused represents 39,72% of the GDP of 
the concerned NUTS 2 level region Voreio Aigaio and thus exceeds the threshold of 
EUR 38 239 500 (1,5% of regional GDP). The application from Greece is therefore 
eligible for a contribution from the EUSF. 

The total direct damage is the basis for the calculation of the amount of the financial 
contribution  from  the  EUSF.  The  financial  contribution  may  only  be  used  for 
essential  emergency  and  recovery  operations  as  defined  in  Article  3(2)  of  the 
Regulation, with the exception of small letter e). 

In its application of 22 January 2021, Greece requested the payment of an advance as 
laid  down  in  Article  4a  of  the  Regulation.  On  8  March  2021,  the  Commission 
adopted  Implementing  Decision  C  (2021)  1623  awarding  an  advance  amounting  to 
EUR 253 131. The amount of the advance will be taken into account for calculating 
the balance of the contribution to the beneficiary State. The Commission will recover 
unduly paid advances. 

The  application  describes  in  detail  the  event  and  the  entity  of  the  damage.  On  30 
October 2020, an earthquake with magnitude of 7,0 struck about 14 km northeast of 
the  Greek  island  of  Samos.  Three  days  after  the  main  earthquake,  about  150 

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aftershocks  were  recorded,  of  varying  intensity.  The  rupture  during  the  initial 
earthquake  caused  a  sharp  change  in  the  seabed  and  a  submarine  landslide. 
Consequently,  the  initial  earthquake  was  followed  by  the  occurrence  of  three 
gravitational waves (tsunami) up to 1,5 meters high which swept various areas in the 
northern  part  of  Samos.  The  earthquake  and  tsunami  have  caused  damages  on  the 
North Aegean islands of Samos, Ikaria and Chios. The disaster killed two people and 
injured  19  people  due  to  collapse  of  buildings  and  falling  of  fragments.  Large 
damages were caused to churches, schools, museum exhibitions and private houses. 
In Vathi of Samos the disasters and damages are significant and 2 000-3 000 people 
were  facing  housing  problems.  Every  old  stone  building  that  existed  suffered  from 
minor damage to  total  destruction.  A total  of 300 houses have a problem  in  Samos 
after  the  earthquake.  The  earthquake  destroyed  an  important  part  of  the  road 
network. 

Greece  estimated  the  cost  of  emergency  and  recovery  operations  eligible  under 
Article 3(2) of the Regulation at EUR 23 785 020 and presented it broken down by 
type  of  operation.  The  largest  share  (over  EUR 10 million)  concerns  the  costs  to 
restore  the  transport  infrastructure,  followed  by  the  costs  to  restore  the  education 
infrastructure    (over  EUR 6,6 million)  and  the  costs  of  cleaning  up  operations  of 
disaster stricken area (over EUR 4,5 million).  

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

As  regards  the  implementation  of  Union  legislation  on  disaster  risk  prevention  and 
management, there is currently no infringement procedure on-going.  

The  Greek  application  provides  a  description  of  the  implementation  of  Union 
legislation  on  disaster  risk  prevention  and  management  related  to  the  nature  of  the 
disaster.  Based  on  the  strong  earthquakes  that  hit  Greece  between  1978-1981,  the 
Greek  government  set  up a natural  disaster risk  prevention and management policy 
with  the  aim  of  improving  resilience  in  local  communities  via  a  framework  for 
implementing policies to  reduce known  risks, managing the impact  of earthquakes, 
and  procedures/action  to  prevent  new  risks.  The  Greek  Antiseismic  Building  Code 
contains the updated Seismic Hazard Map. 

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2.4        France- the storm Alex in Provence-Alpes-Côtes d’Azur region in October 2020 

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On 21 December 2020, France applied for a financial contribution from the EUSF to 
finance  emergency  and  recovery  operations  following  the  damages  caused  by  the 
storm Alex in Provence-Alpes-Côtes d’Azur region in October 2020. 

The application was submitted within the deadline of 12 weeks after the first damage 
caused  by  the  disaster  was  recorded  on  2  October 2020  and  contains  all  the 
information required under Article 4 of the Regulation. 

The disaster is of natural origin and therefore falls within the scope of the EUSF. 

The  application  presented  the  event  as  a  ‘regional  natural  disaster’  as  laid  down  in 
Article  2(3)  of  the  Regulation,  which  is  any  natural  disaster  in  a  region  at  NUTS 
level 2 of an eligible State resulting in direct damage exceeding 1,5% of that region's 
gross  domestic  product  (GDP).  The  French  authorities  estimate  the  total  direct 
damage at EUR 2 373 000 000. The damage caused represents 1,5% of the GDP of 
the concerned NUTS 2 level region Provence-Alpes-Côtes d’Azur and thus exceeds 
the threshold of EUR 2 372 040 600 (1,5% of regional GDP). The application from 
France is therefore eligible for a contribution from the EUSF. 

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The total direct damage is the basis for the calculation of the amount of the financial 
contribution  from  the  EUSF.  The  financial  contribution  may  only  be  used  for 
essential  emergency  and  recovery  operations  as  defined  in  Article  3(2)  of  the 
Regulation, with the exception of small letter e). 

In its application of 21 December 2020, France requested the payment of an advance 
as laid down in Article 4a of the Regulation. On 22 February 2021, the Commission 
adopted  Implementing  Decision  C(2021)  1340  awarding  an  advance  amounting  to 
EUR 5 932 500.  The  amount  of  the  advance  will  be  taken  into  account  for 
calculating the balance of the contribution to the beneficiary State. The Commission 
will recover unduly paid advances. 

The  application  describes  in  detail  the  event  and  the  entity  of  the  damage.  Storm 
Alex swept France from 1 to 4 October 2020. The storm caused particularly severe 
damage  in  Provence-Alpes-Côtes  d’Azur  region  -  exceptional  rainfall  affected 
different alpine valleys located north of the city of Nice, with an intensity exceeding 
the  once  in  100  years  magnitude  at  several  locations.  The  combination  of  heavy 
rainfall  and  local  morphology  (characterized  by  narrow  valleys  with  steep  slopes) 
triggered multiple hazardous  processes such as landslides, debris flows,  flash flood 
waves and severe erosion processes along the water courses. Cumulative amounts of 
the  rainfall  reached  volumes  that  have  never  been  recorded  before.  As  a  result,  all 
infrastructure networks suffered severe damages and destructions, and several towns 
were  isolated  by  the  collapse  of  bridges  and  main  roads.  Hundreds  of  houses  were 
impacted, 9 people died. Intensity and amounts of the rain correspond to occurrence 
only once a century or less, and was accompanied by strong winds (recorded up to 
161 km/h). The particularly affected municipalities are located in the Roya, Tiné and 
Vésubia valleys. The Estéron and Var valleys were also affected, to a lesser extent. 
In the early days of the storm, all networks (water, electricity and roads) were cut off 
in  the Roya, Tiné  and Vésubia valleys isolating the people from the outside world. 
Overall,  the  storm  has  made  a  devastating  damages  to  the  public  and  private 
property,  and  significant  damage  to  the  road  and  railway  infrastructure,  electricity 
grids. The disaster has seriously impacted business and tourisms. 

France  estimated  the  cost  of  emergency  and  recovery  operations  eligible  under 
Article 3(2) of the Regulation  at  EUR 1 805 243 000 and presented it broken down 
by type of operation. The largest share (over EUR 663 million) concerns the costs to 
restore  the  road  infrastructure,  followed  by  the  costs  to  repair  public  buildings/ 
objects (over EUR 340 million).  

The  French  authorities  confirmed  that  there  is  no  insurance  coverage  of  eligible 
costs.  

As  regards  the  implementation  of  Union  legislation  on  disaster  risk  prevention  and 
management, there is currently no infringement procedure on-going.  

Directive  2007/60/EC  was  transposed  into  French  law  by  Article  221  of  Law  No 
2010-788  of  12  July  2010  establishing  a  national  commitment  for  the  environment 
and  Decree  No  2011-227  of  2  March  2011  on  the  assessment  and  management  of 
flood risks. For the purpose of transposing this Directive, the French State has chosen 
to rely on national actions by drawing up a national flood risk management strategy 
and  on  territorial  actions  with  flood  risk  management  plans  (FRMPs)  drawn  up  at 
river  basin  district  level.  The  FRMP  is  the  tool  for  implementing  the  Floods 
Directive at local level.  

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2.5        Albania, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czechia, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, 
Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Portugal, 
Romania, Serbia, Spain- major public health emergency caused by the COVID-
19 pandemic in early 2020 

In December 2019, a pneumonia epidemic of unknown origin was reported to the WHO from 
Wuhan,  China.  This  was  later  identified  as  a  new  strain  of  coronavirus  that  had  not  been 
previously known in humans - Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‑ 19). On 30 January 2020, 
the WHO declared an epidemic emergency of international scale due to the new coronavirus 
epidemic.  

In  2020  as  part  of  the  Coronavirus  Response  Investment  Initiative  (CRII),  the  EUSF 
Regulation was amended3 by including major public health emergencies within the scope of 
the EU solidarity principle. 

Subsequently, by the deadline of 24 June 2020 the Commission received 22 applications for a 
financial  contribution  from  the  EUSF.  Overall,  19  EU  Member  States  (Austria,  Belgium, 
Croatia,  Czechia,  Estonia,  France,  Germany,  Greece,  Hungary,  Ireland,  Italy,  Latvia, 
Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia and Spain) and three accession 
countries (Albania, Montenegro and Serbia) requested assistance. 

The  Commission  services  have  carried  out  a  thorough  examination  of  all  received 
applications  in  accordance with  the EUSF Regulation,  in  particular with  Articles 2, 3 and 4 
thereof. The most important elements of the assessments are set out below. 

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All 22 applications were submitted by the official final deadline of 24 June 2020 for 
the  major  public  health  emergency  caused  by  the  COVID-19  pandemic  (i.e.  within 
the twelve weeks of the entry into force of  amending Regulation (EU) 2020/461). 

The  COVID-19  pandemic  is  a  major  public  health  emergency  and  therefore  falls 
within the field of application of the EUSF. 

The received 22 applications contain all the information required under Article 4 of 
the Regulation.  

Seven EU Member States requested in their applications  the payment of an advance 
on the anticipated contribution from the EUSF (Croatia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, 
Ireland, Portugal and Spain). Article 4a  of the Regulation envisages the possibility to 
ask for advance payments under the Fund only for Member States. The Commission 
services conducted a preliminary assessment of the applications received from these 
seven Member States and concluded that the conditions for paying an advance from 
the EUSF were met for all seven applications.  

In 2020, based on the preliminary assessment, the Commission services established 
the total expenditure provisionally accepted for Croatia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, 
Ireland, Portugal and Spain for the sole purpose of determining the advance payment. 
The latest amendment to the EUSF raised the maximum level of advance payment to 
25% of the amount of financial contribution and no more than EUR 100 million.  

On  27 November  2020, 
  Implementing  Decision 
the  Commission  adopted 
C(2020) 8574  awarding  an  advance  from  the  EUSF  amounting  to  EUR 23 279 441 
and subsequently paid it out to Ireland.  

(7) 

On 2 December 2020, the Commission adopted: 

3 

Regulation (EU) 2020/461 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 March 2020. 

EN 

7 

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– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

Implementing  Decision  C(2020) 8686  awarding  an  advance  from  the  EUSF 
amounting to EUR 8 462 280 and subsequently paid it out to Croatia; 

Implementing  Decision  C(2020) 8667  awarding  an  advance  from  the  EUSF 
amounting to EUR 15 499 409 and subsequently paid it out to Germany;  

Implementing  Decision  C(2020) 8687  awarding  an  advance  from  the  EUSF 
amounting to EUR 4 535 700 and subsequently paid it out to Greece; 

Implementing  Decision  C(2020) 8683  awarding  an  advance  from  the  EUSF 
amounting to EUR 26 587 069 and subsequently paid it out to Hungary; 

Implementing  Decision  C(2020) 8688  awarding  an  advance  from  the  EUSF 
amounting to EUR 37 528 511 and subsequently paid it out to Portugal; 

Implementing  Decision  C(2020) 8696  awarding  an  advance  from  the  EUSF 
amounting to EUR 16 844 420 and subsequently paid it out to Spain. 

In line with the Regulation, the amount  of the advance has been taken into account 
for  calculating  the  balance  of  the  contribution  to  the  beneficiary  State.  The 
Commission will recover unduly paid advances. 

All applications received were assessed in a single package to ensure consistent and 
equal treatment. The Commission thoroughly looked into several aspects, such as the 
eligibility of the expenditure (including, analysing whether the presented expenditure 
covered eligible operations and if the expenditure fell within the eligibility period), 
the emergency nature of expenditure and direct link to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 
consistency  of  the  overall  assessment.  Where  required,  the  Commission  requested 
the  applicant  countries  to  provide  additional    information,  explanations  and 
justification.  

A  number  of  exchanges  with  the  responsible  national  authorities  allowed  the 
Commission to clarify issues regarding the eligibility of certain types of expenditure 
declared  and  to  finalise  its  assessment.  Consequently,  the  Commission  services 
established  the  total  public  expenditure  for  emergency  response  measures  accepted 
for each application. 

During the assessment and following the  exchanges  with  the Polish authorities, the 
Commission services established that the total public direct expenditure as reported 
by the Polish  authorities in  their EUSF application submitted on 22 June 2020 was 
overestimated  and  therefore  had  to  be  reduced,  with  the  agreement  of  said 
authorities.  As  the  major  public  health  emergency  threshold  for  Poland  in  2020  is 
EUR 1 430,574 million and the revised total public expenditure remains considerably 
below the respective threshold, the application from Poland is not eligible for support 
from the EUSF. 

During  the  assessment  and  following  the  exchanges  with  the  Slovenian  authorities, 
the Commission services established that the total public expenditure as reported by 
the Slovenian authorities in their EUSF application submitted on 17 June 2020 was 
overestimated and therefore had to be reduced. As the major public health emergency 
threshold  for  Slovenia  in  2020  is  EUR 135,102 million  and  the  revised  total  public 
expenditure remains below the respective threshold, the application from Slovenia is 
not eligible for support from the EUSF. 

(8) 

(9) 

(10) 

(11) 

(12) 

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2.6 

Conclusion 

For the reasons set out above, the disasters referred to in the applications submitted by Greece 
and  France,  as  well  as  the  20  applications  in  relation  to  the  Covid-19  pandemic  meet  the 
conditions set out in the Regulation. 

3. 

FINANCING FROM THE EUSF ALLOCATIONS 2021 

Council Regulation (EU, EURATOM) No 2020/2093 of 17 December 2020 laying down the 
multiannual financial framework for the  years 2021-20274 (hereafter "the MFF regulation"), 
and in particular Article 9 thereof allows for the mobilisation of the EUSF in the context of 
the  SEAR.  Point  10  of  the  Interinstitutional  Agreement  of  16 December 2020  between  the 
European  Parliament,  the  Council  and  the  Commission  on  budgetary  discipline,  on 
cooperation  on  budgetary  matters  and  on  sound  financial  management5  (IIA)  as  well  as  on 
new own resources, including a roadmap towards the introduction of new own resources,  lays 
down the modalities for the mobilisation of the EUSF in the context of the SEAR. 

As solidarity was the main justification for the creation of the EUSF, the Commission takes 
the view that aid should be progressive. That means that, according to previous practice, the 
portion  of  the  damage  exceeding  the  “major  natural  disaster”  threshold  for  mobilising  the 
EUSF  (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 
the 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 the aid was set out in the 2002-2003 Annual Report on the EUSF 
and accepted by the Council and the European Parliament. 

On  the  basis  of  the  applications  from  Greece  and  France,  the  calculation  of  the  financial 
contribution  from  the  EUSF,  based  on  the  estimate  of  total  direct  damages  caused  is  as 
follows: 

Qualification 
of disaster 

Total direct 
damage 

(EUR) 

Applied 
regional 
disaster 
threshold 
[1.5% of GDP]  

( EUR) 

Total amount 
of aid 
proposed 
(EUR) 

2,5% of total 
direct damage 

Advances  

(EUR) 

Regional 
(Art. 2(3)) 

Regional 
(Art. 2(3)) 
Regional 
(Art. 2(3)) 
Regional 
(Art. 2(3)) 

132 004 000 

128 286 000 

3 300 100 

330 010 

863 540 756 

116 933 2716 

21 588 519 

2 158 852 

101 252 020 

38 239 500 

2 531 301 

253 131 

2 373 000 000 

2 372 040 600 

59 325 000 

5 932 500 

Member 
States 

GREECE 
floods Sterea 
Ellada 
GREECE 
cyclone Ianos 
GREECE 
earthquake 
FRANCE 
storm Alex 

4 
5 
6 

OJ L 433I, 22.12.2020, p. 11. 
OJ C 433I, 22.12.2020, p. 28. 
In the case of the cyclone Ianos, having the disaster affected multiple regions, the basis to calculate The 
threshold is the average GDP of those regions, weighted according to the share of total damage in each 
of them, as established by EUSF Regulation, Art.2(3). 

EN 

9 

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TOTAL 

86 744 920 

8 674 493 

In the case of major public health emergencies, the Commission applies a similar method for 
determining aid amounts as for natural disasters: a country receives 2,5% of the total amount 
of  eligible  public  expenditure  up  to  the  country  specific  threshold  for  major  health 
emergencies, plus 6% of the part of the public expenditure exceeding the threshold. This was 
also  communicated  through  the  Commission’s  website7.  As  this  calculation  led  to  a  total 
amount  for  all  countries  exceeding  the  available  budget  resources,  the  amounts  per  country 
were reduced on a pro rata basis. 

As regards the EUSF applications submitted by Albania, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czechia, 
Estonia,  France,  Germany,  Greece,  Hungary,  Ireland,  Italy,  Latvia,  Lithuania,  Luxembourg, 
Montenegro,  Portugal,  Romania,  Serbia  and  Spain  related  to  the  major  public  health 
emergency caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Commission services therefore propose to 
the budget authority to mobilise the following amounts: 

Country 

Total claimed 
public 
expenditure  
(EUR) 

Total eligible 
public 
expenditure 
accepted by the 
EC (EUR) 

major health 
emergency 
threshold 
(million EUR) 

Potential aid 
amount 
(EUR) 

Pro-rata aid 
 amount 
(EUR) 

Advance 
paid 

Albania 

Austria 

Belgium 

Croatia 

Czechia 

Estonia 

France 

54 998 000 

54 755 654 

38,852 

1 925 519 

905 271 

2 111 595 244 

1 798 883 065 

1 153,959 

67 544 419 

31 755 580 

2 192 550 000 

2 132 102 000 

1 388,322 

79 334 850 

37 298 777 

0 

0 

0 

658 771 839 

358 524 373 

151,638 

16 204 132 

7 618 270 

8 462 280 

1 832 510 000 

959 231 097 

588,597 

36 952 971 

17 373 205 

173 328 000 

171 932 664 

76,647 

7 633 315 

3 588 755 

7 011 813 781 

4 284 611 574 

1 792,639 

194 334 329 

91 365 053 

0 

0 

0 

Amount for 
balance 
payment to be 
mobilised 
(EUR) 

905 271 

31 755 580 

37 298 777 

08 

17 373 205 

3 588 755 

91 365 053 

Germany 

2 079 000 000 

2 079 000 000 

1 792,639 

61 997 635 

29 147 795 

15 499 409 

13 648 386 

Greece 

623 925 000 

623 925 000 

551,220 

18 142 800 

8 529 722 

4 535 700 

3 994 022 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10  Hungary 

1 997 208 000 

1 632 956 193 

385,263 

84 493 167 

39 723 926 

26 587 069 

13 136 857 

11 

Ireland 

1 997 000 000 

1 996 328 000 

762,921 

93 077 445 

43 759 771 

23 279 441 

20 480 330 

12 

Italy 

3 755 558 000 

3 749 558 000 

1 792,639 

162 231 115 

76 271 930 

13  Latvia 

178 626 000 

91 884 602 

85,947 

2 504 931 

1 177 677 

14  Lithuania 

176 974 000 

176 932 597 

131,433 

6 015 801 

2 828 291 

15  Luxembourg 

168 230 000 

168 230 000 

114,768 

6 076 920 

2 857 025 

16  Montenegro 

15 329 000 

15 329 000 

14,154 

424 350 

199 505 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

76 271 930 

1 177 677 

2 828 291 

2 857 025 

199 505 

17  Portugal 

3 470 870 000 

2 318 870 000 

598,233 

118 194 045 

55 568 181 

37 528 511 

18 039 670 

18  Romania 

848 631 000 

841 391 000 

596,025 

29 622 585 

13 926 870 

19 

Serbia 

495 400 765 

495 400 765 

121,926 

25 456 636 

11 968 276 

0 

0 

13 926 870 

11 968 276 

20 

Spain 

15 750 543 061 

2 941 717 381 

1 792,639 

113 760 678 

53 483 861 

16 844 420 

36 639 441 

TOTAL 

1 125 927 643 

529 347 741  132 736 830 

397 454 921 

7 
8 

https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/funding/solidarity-fund/covid-19 
An amount of EUR 844 010 will be recovered from Croatia. 

EN 

10 

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In  accordance  with  Article  9(2)  of  the  MFF  Regulation,  the  overall  annual  ceiling  of  the 
SEAR is EUR 1 200 000 000 in 2018 prices or EUR 1 273 450 000 in current prices. Article 
9(4)  of  the  MFF  Regulation  stipulates  that  25%  of  the  overall  2021  SEAR  allocation 
(EUR 318 362 500 in current prices) needs to be retained until 1 October 2021, but becomes 
available for all the components of SEAR as of that date. Also,  in accordance with Article 9 
(4) of the MFF Regulation, the maximum amount that can be mobilised by the EUSF until 1 
September  is  the  50%  of  the  overall  SEAR  allocation  after  the  decuction  of  the  above 
mentioned  25%.  Therefore,  the  maximum  amount  that  can  be  mobilised by  the  EUSF  from 
the 2021 allocation until 1 September 2021 is EUR 477 543 750. In accordance with Article 
4a (4) of the EUSF Regulation, the amount of EUR 50 000 000 has been already insribed in 
the General Budget 2021 (in commitments and payments) for the payment of advances. This 
amount  will  be  used  for  the  payment  of  the  advances  of  the  4  natural  disasters  and  the 
remaining amount (i.e. EUR 41 325 507) will be available for any future needs for advances 
later in the year. 

In addition, an amount of EUR 47 981 598 of the 2020 allocation was not used until the end 
of that year and is carried over to 2021.  

Therefore,  the  maximum  amount  available  under  the  EUSF  at  this  point  in  2021  is 
EUR 525 525 348,  which  is  enough  to  cover  the  needs  under  this  Mobilisation  Decision  as 
outlined above (EUR 484 199 841, of which EUR 86 744 920 related to the natural disasters 
in Greece and France and EUR 397 454 921 related to COVID-19 applications). 

Amount currently available under the EUSF: 

Annual SEAR allocation of 2021   

  EUR 1 273 450 000 

Minus 25% of 2021 SEAR allocation to be retained until 1 October 2021 

-EUR 318 362 500 

Total SEAR allocation available until 1 October  

Amount available for EUSF until 1 September from the 2021 SEAR 
allocation  (50% of available 2021 SEAR allocation)  

Of which amount earmarked for advances   

Plus unspent amount of 2020 allocation carried over to 2021 

EUR 955 087 500 

EUR 477 543 750 

EUR 50 000 000 

EUR 47 981 598 

Total amount available for EUSF until 1 September 2021 

EUR 525 525 348 

Total amount proposed to be mobilised for the natural disasters in Greece 
and France, as well as for the COVID-19 applications 

Remaining availabilities until 1 September  

EUR 484 199 841 

EUR 41 325 507 

EN 

11 

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2021/0077 (BUD) 

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 and France in relation to natural disasters and to Albania, Austria, Belgium, 
Croatia, Czechia, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, 
Lithuania, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Spain in relation to a 
public health emergency 

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 Fund1, and in particular Article 4(3) thereof, 

Having  regard  to  the  Interinstitutional  Agreement  of  16  December  2020  between  the 
European  Parliament,  the  Council  and  the  Commission  on  budgetary  discipline,  on 
cooperation on budgetary matters and on sound financial management as well as on new own 
resources,  including  a  roadmap  towards  the  introduction  of  new  own  resources2,  and  in 
particular point 10 thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

The  European  Union  Solidarity  Fund  ('the  Fund')  aims  to  enable  the  Union  to 
respond in a rapid, efficient and flexible manner to emergency situations in order to 
show  solidarity  with  the  population  of  regions  struck  by  major  or  regional  natural 
disasters or major public health emergency. 

The  Fund  is  not  to  exceed  the  ceilings  as  laid  down  in  Article  9  of  Council 
Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 2020/20933. In accordance with Article 9(2) and 9(4) 
of  the  MFF  Regulation,  the  maximum  amount  that  can  be  mobilised  by  the  EUSF 
from the 2021 allocation until 1 September 2021 is EUR 477 543 750. In accordance 
with Article 4a (4) of the EUSF Regulation, the amount of EUR 50 000 000 has been 
already insribed in the General Budget 2021 (in commitments and payments) for the 
payment  of  advances.  In  addition,  an  amount  of  EUR  47  981  598  of  the  2020 
allocation  was  not  used  until  the  end  of  that  year  and  is  carried  over  to  2021. 
Therefore, the maximum amount available under the EUSF  at  this point in  2021 is 
EUR  525  525  348,  which  is  enough  to  cover  the  needs  under  this  Mobilisation 
Decision. 

1 
2 
3 

OJ L 311, 14.11.2002, p. 3. 
OJ L 433I , 22.12.2020, p. 28. 
Council  Regulation  (EU,  Euratom)  2020/2093  of  17  December  2020  laying  down  the  multiannual 
financial framework for the years 2021 to 2027 (OJ L 433I , 22.12.2020, p. 11). 

EN 

12 

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(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

(5) 

(6) 

(7) 

(8)  

(9) 

On  29  October  2020,  Greece  submitted  an  application  to  mobilise  the  Fund, 
following the floods in August 2020 in Sterea Ellada. 

On  9  December  2020,  Greece  submitted  an  application  to  mobilise  the  Fund, 
following the damages caused by the cyclone Ianos in September 2020 that affected 
the Regions of Ionia Nisia, Sterea Ellada, Ditiki Ellada, Thessalia and Peloponnisos. 

On  22  January  2021,  Greece  submitted  an  application  to  mobilise  the  Fund, 
following the earthquake in October 2020 that affected the islands of Samos, Ikaria 
and Chios.  

On  21  December  2020,  France  submitted  an  application  to  mobilise  the  Fund,  
following  the  damages  caused  by  Storm  Alex  in  Provence-Alpes-Côtes  d’Azur 
region in October 2020. 

By  24  June  2020,  Albania,  Austria,  Belgium,  Croatia,  Czechia,  Estonia,  France, 
Germany,  Greece,  Hungary,  Ireland,  Italy,  Latvia,  Lithuania,  Luxembourg, 
Montenegro,  Portugal,  Romania,  Serbia  and  Spain    submitted  applications  to 
mobilise  the  Fund  in  relation    to  the  major  public  health  emergency  caused  by  the 
COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020.  

The  applications  by  those  Member  States  meet  the  conditions  for  providing  a 
financial  contribution  from  the  Fund,  as  laid  down  in  Article  4  of  Regulation  (EC) 
No 2012/2002. 

The Fund should therefore be mobilised in order to provide a financial contribution 
to  Greece  and  France  in  relation  to  the  natural  disasters  and  to  Albania,  Austria, 
Belgium,  Czechia,  Estonia,  France,  Germany,  Greece,  Hungary,  Ireland,  Italy, 
Latvia,  Lithuania,  Luxembourg,  Montenegro,  Portugal,  Romania,  Serbia,  Spain  in 
relation to the major public health emergency.  

In the case of Croatia, since the final aid amount exceeds the advance already paid, 
no  further  amount  needs  to  be  mobilised  and  the  unduly  paid  advance  will  be 
recovered in accordance with Article 4a of Regulation (EC) No 2012/2002. 

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 

For  the  general  budget  of  the  Union  for  the  financial  year  2021,  the  European  Union 
Solidarity Fund shall be mobilised as follows in commitment and payment appropriations in 
relation to natural disasters: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

the amount of EUR 3 300 100 shall be provided to Greece in relation to the floods in 
Sterea Ellada, including the amount of EUR 330 010 as advance payment; 

the  amount  of  EUR 21 588 519  shall  be  provided  to  Greece  in  relation  to  cyclone 
Ianos, including the amount of EUR 2 158 852 as advance payment; 

the  amount  of  EUR 2 531 301  shall  be  provided  to  Greece  in  relation  to  the 
earthquake in the islands of Samos, Chios and Ikaria, including the amount of EUR 
253 131 as advance payment; 

the amount of EUR 59 325 000 shall be provided to France in relation to  the storm 
Alex, including the amount of EUR 5 932 500 as advance payment. 

EN 

13 

  EN 

For  the  general  budget  of  the  Union  for  the  financial  year  2021,  the  European  Union 
Solidarity Fund shall be mobilised as follows in commitment and payment appropriations in 
relation to a major public health emergency: 

Article 2 

(a)  

(b)  

(c)  

(d)  

(e)  

(f)  

(g)  

the amount of EUR 905 271 shall be provided to Albania; 

the amount of EUR 31 755 580 shall be provided to Austria; 

the amount of EUR 37 298 777 shall be provided to Belgium; 

the amount of EUR 17 373 205 shall be provided to Czechia ; 

the amount of EUR 3 588 755 shall be provided to Estonia; 

the amount of EUR 91 365 053 shall be provided to France; 

the amount of EUR 13 648 386 shall be provided to Germany; 

(h)         the amount of EUR 3 994 022 shall be provided to Greece; 

(i)          the amount of EUR 13 136 857 shall be provided to Hungary; 

(j)          the amount of EUR 20 480 330 shall be provided to Ireland; 

(k)         the amount of EUR 76 271 930 shall be provided to Italy; 

(l)          the amount of EUR 1 177 677 shall be provided to Latvia; 

(m)        the amount of EUR 2 828 291 shall be provided to Lithuania; 

(n)         the amount of EUR 2 857 025 shall be provided to Luxembourg;  

(o)         the amount of EUR 199 505 shall be provided to Montenegro; 

(p)         the amount of EUR 18 039 670 shall be provided to Portugal; 

(q)        the amount of EUR 13 926 870 shall be provided to Romania; 

(r)         the amount of EUR 11 968 276 shall be provided to Serbia; 

(s)        the amount of EUR 36 639 441 shall be provided to Spain.  

Article 3 

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]. 

Done at Brussels, 

For the European Parliament 

For the Council 

 Date to be inserted by the Parliament before the publication in OJ. 

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