Explanatory Memorandum to COM(2002)514 - EU Solidarity Fund - Main contents
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This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
| dossier | COM(2002)514 - EU Solidarity Fund. |
|---|---|
| source | COM(2002)514  |
| date | 18-09-2002 |
The recent flooding in central Europe has been on an almost unprecedented scale in recent history. The extent and cost of the damage is very extensive - dozens of people have lost their lives, the socio-economic infrastructure of entire regions has been disrupted and the natural and cultural heritage has been damaged.
Other disasters of dramatic proportions - of a similar or different nature - have occurred in the past; unfortunately they cannot be excluded for the future. While Community instruments are in place to assist in the event of a disaster elsewhere in the world no comparable instruments exist within the Member States themselves.
We are a community of peoples on the path to closer union. At the same time the Union is preparing for enlargement in the very near future. In the event of a major disaster it is only right and natural that the citizens, Member States and countries with which accession negotiations are under way, as well as the Community Institutions, feel a spontaneous urge to show their sympathy for the victims through practical gestures of financial solidarity in particular.
With this proposal for a Council Regulation the Commission therefore proposes to create a new European Union Solidarity Fund to assist affected regions in Member States and other countries involved in accession negotiations in the event of major natural, technological and environmental disasters.
Wide support
The European Parliament too has voiced its concern and has promised to process proposals which require the approval of the Budgetary Authority with maximum urgency. At its plenary sitting on 3 September 2002 in Strasbourg it expressed its full support for the creation of a special Community instrument to intervene in the case of disasters in Member States or candidate countries.
The Council also shares this sense of solidarity with the victims of the flooding and of the urgency of Community action. At the special meeting of Member States' representatives on 29 August 2002 convened by the Danish Presidency to discuss what measures the Union could take they unanimously supported the idea of creating a specific Community instrument to respond to the consequences of major disasters by rapidly mobilising new resources.
The European Union Solidarity Fund
The Solidarity Fund should be essentially different from the Structural Funds and other existing Community instruments. It should be focused on giving immediate financial assistance to help the people, regions and countries concerned return to living conditions that are as normal as possible. Its scope should therefore be limited to the most urgent needs. The longer-term reconstruction of infrastructure and businesses must be left to other instruments.
EU aid should be complementary to the efforts of the countries concerned and be used to cover a share of the public expenditure caused by the disaster. The Fund should provide emergency relief for any area affected by a major disaster, independently of its status under the Structural Funds. The amount of support would be related to the size of the disaster but could also take into account other potential sources of finance.
The principle of subsidiarity also applies in the event of disasters. Action by the European Union appears only necessary and justified in cases of major dimension. This reasoning is reinforced by the scarcity of supplementary budget resources.
Money from the relief fund would be given in response to a request from the affected country as a single grant on the basis of an agreement between the European Commission and the country and - where appropriate - the affected region(s) or localities.
The existence of a major disaster justifying action at EU level and the amount of the aid would be proposed by the Commission to the budgetary authority (this can be done quickly). The implementation of the aid, in particular the selection of individual projects to be assisted, would be carried out under the responsibility of the country and the regions concerned. The Fund would be subject to the normal Community rules on financial aid, including issues of control.
Making funding available
Setting up a new Fund in the EC budget requires two steps: creating an instrument to make the money available and defining new operational budget lines to which the money can be transferred for implementation. The latter requires the adoption of a legal basis.
- A new flexibility instrument
On 11 September 2002 the Commission adopted the proposal for a new flexibility instrument for disasters which would make it possible to address unforeseen and exceptional circumstances and which determines the rules for its mobilisation. The corresponding expenditure shall be entered in the budget over and above the relevant headings in the financial perspectives.
- Creating a legal basis
The Council and the Parliament will need to adopt, on a Commission proposal, a legal act establishing the operational modalities and the criteria for the implementation of the facility. This is the objective of the present proposal for a Council Regulation.