Slovenia can count on financial support from the EU for reconstruction after the catastrophic floods. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who visited the affected areas on Wednesday, announced an EU aid package for the country. A total of EUR 400 million should flow from the Solidarity Fund – but that is not all.
This year, EUR 100 million must be made available and the rest next year. “Slovenia can count on the EU,” von der Leyen said at a joint press conference with Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob in Ljubljana.
Before that, she flew by helicopter over the affected areas in central and northern Slovenia and visited the heavily damaged town of Črna na Koroškem.
Von der Leyen also announced her plans on X (formerly Twitter):
It was “heartbreaking” to see the devastation, von der Leyen said after the visit. “But it was also heartbreaking to see the great solidarity of the people, their confidence and courage,” she added.
Billion dollar injection for Slovenia
Financing from the EU Solidarity Fund is only part of the financial support Slovenia will be able to receive. A further EUR 2.7 billion is available in the ‘Next Generation EU’ reconstruction fund, which the country has not yet used. According to von der Leyen, the EU Commission will set up a task force together with the Slovenian authorities to be able to request the funds in a timely manner. In addition, Slovenia will be able to use the already approved EUR 3.3 billion funds for the harmonization of social standards for construction purposes, it was said.
The head of the commission stressed that overall the commission would demonstrate “maximum flexibility”.
“We have a good package of immediate, medium and long-term support for reconstruction and damage repair in Slovenia,” said von der Leyen. She pointed out that time is of the essence and that Slovenia should submit a preliminary damage assessment as soon as possible.
The Slovenian Prime Minister announced that the government will set up a special fund that will manage all the money for reconstruction after the flood disaster. According to Golob, Slovenia will soon contribute a first tranche of 300 million euros from its own budget to the fund. “We want to use the funds quickly and in a targeted way for reconstruction,” he said. The damage from the environmental disaster is estimated at several billion euros.
Pope prays, army helps
Since Wednesday, two helicopters of the Austrian armed forces have been operating from Klagenfurt in Slovenia. In coordination with the crisis coordination of the Slovenian Armed Forces, they are conducting reconnaissance flights in the Dravograd-Mežica-Črna region after Koroškem, which was particularly hard hit by the storm. In addition, urgently needed goods such as food, medicine and drinking water will be flown to cut-off cities, the Ministry of Defense in Vienna announced.
Meanwhile, Pope Francis prayed for the victims of natural disasters in Slovenia and Georgia. “In recent days, dramatic natural phenomena have occurred in Slovenia and Georgia, causing death and material destruction. I pray for the victims and express my spiritual solidarity with their families and with all who suffer from these disasters. I thank everyone who has offered to help them,” the pope said on Wednesday.
Source: Krone
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