Economy Commissioner: Greece will receive emergency support from the EU for disasters but… next year

Greece is expected to receive aid through the EU’s emergency support fund for natural disasters “and more”, Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni said earlier today.

Asked how soon the EU financial aid will arrive, Paolo Gentiloni said that some funds will be available already this year, but in a limited way, but next year the aid will be much more substantial.

Speaking ahead of tomorrow’s meeting between the Greek prime minister and the president of the European Commission, Mr. Gentiloni replied that there is an EU emergency fund to support countries affected by natural disasters (European Solidarity Fund).

As he explained, the member states affected by a natural disaster are required to report the amount of the estimated financial damage within three months. “I am sure that the European Commission will try to support through this emergency support fund, but not only through this, Greece’s efforts to face this new crisis,” said the Economy Commissioner. As he noted, Greece faced fires and floods this summer – “phenomena which unfortunately bear witness to the extreme weather crisis we are facing”.

Meeting in Strasbourg tomorrow

Tomorrow the president of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen will discuss with the Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Strasbourg the details of the aid to Greece, said the deputy representative of the Commission, Dana Spinad. He added that Athens has not made a specific request for the civil protection mechanism (apart from the “Copernicus” system), but the Greek prime minister made an overall request for European assistance from different resources and tools.

“We are in discussions with the Greek authorities and the Greek Prime Minister wrote to the President at the end of last week, for financial support, any kind of assistance that the Commission could provide to Greece to deal with the impact of the floods” noted Mrs. Spinad and he added: “Tomorrow in Strasbourg, the president will meet with the prime minister of Greece to discuss precisely the details of the aid that the Commission is preparing to support the country.”