Debate: EU response to devastation following floods in Spain
Date: THURSDAY, 30 JANUARY 2020
Speaker: Maroš Šefčovič
Language: EN

The recent flooding disaster in Spain caused by Storm Gloria is yet another example. Our thoughts are with the people of Spain suffering from this new disaster. In particular, our deepest condolences go to all those who lost loved ones. Europe stands with the people of Spain. We have a tool to provide assistance once serious natural disasters have occurred. The EU Solidarity Fund intervenes to assist the population with the recovery of essential infrastructure, with cleaning—up operations and with the safeguarding of the cultural heritage.  However, the Solidarity Fund is no emergency instrument and it takes some time to mobilise it. Most importantly, the European Parliament and the Council must approve the activation of the Fund and the budget resources once the Commission has assessed the application from the Member State. Once immediate assistance to the population in response to the disaster is under control, the Spanish authorities should assess the damage caused to see whether it succeeds the relevant threshold of 1.5 percentage points of the regional GDP. This is the essential condition for a successful Solidarity Fund application. The Spanish authorities are well familiar with the conditions and procedures of the fund, but of course, the Commission services stand ready to provide further guidance and assistance as required. We are currently in the process of assessing an earlier Spanish application received in November, which includes the autonomous region of Valencia, Murcia, Castilla-La Mancha and Andalusia for the severe weather last September. Spain provided an important information update on this disaster only this week, and an advance payment of EUR 5.7 million is on its way, but in the future, we know that we must be prepared to do more. What happened in Spain is, unfortunately, a foretaste of what is to come as a climate change continues. The EU Solidarity Fund brings welcome support after disasters have happened, but we must be more proactive. This is why in recent years, the Commissioner has been putting an increasing focus on prevention, climate adaptation and the risk management policies. For cohesion policy, disaster risk management is vital because local and regional authorities are the first to face the impacts of disasters because it is a cost—effective investment in preventing future losses and also because it contributes to sustainable development. In this period, 2014—2020 Cohesion Policy is investing almost EUR 8 billion in climate change adaptation and risk prevention. This includes a broad array of support. Floods are the main risk addressed, followed by coastal erosions, forest fires, earthquakes and droughts. Prevention is the main focus of our investment. Actions to improve the modelling of risk, early-warning systems, preparation of strategies and guidelines, awareness raising, grey or green infrastructure for flood protection, sustainable land and forest management, et cetera. In this period, we have also seen a large focus on green infrastructure to manage risk, like flood plains and green urban spaces. The Commission also provides guidelines and it encourages Member States to compile national risk assessments, which are an essential and necessary tool to fight the impact of floods. Besides prevention, we also focus on preparedness with support for equipment, infrastructure and training for civil protection units. European money also supports the development and improvement of the EU early-warning and information systems. Fed by a network of sensors and satellites, they provide reliable information about the development of extreme meteorological events, improving the prediction of the impact of events such as floods. These systems also enable the emergency—response community to monitor and share reliable information, to prepare to respond and to better coordinate response efforts.  Finally, we offer flexibility in our cohesion programmes. Programme amendments can be proposed and then swiftly agreed to shift resources towards areas that are most at need, so if changes need to be made, we can still do this within this funding period. The Commission’s proposals for cohesion policy after 2020 include disaster risk management and climate adaptation as specific objectives. Prevention and preparedness measures include infrastructure, equipment shelters, development of early—warning systems and training for civil protection units. Where appropriate, these measures cross borders.