Italy has submitted the application to access the EU Solidarity Fund for the damage caused in Calabria, Sicily and Sardinia by Cyclone Harry last January: a spokesperson for the European Commission confirmed this to the Agi news agency, specifying that the application is dated 10 April. “The Commission will carry out an in-depth assessment of the information presented by Italy, establish the amount of support and send a proposal to Parliament and the Council who will take the decision,” adds the spokesperson. Once the decision is made, the funds can be disbursed immediately in a single installment. There is no deadline for the Commission to finalize its evaluation, which along with the budget process can take several months to complete.
The use of the Solidarity Fund is, among other things, one of the topics posed in a question by EPP MEPs, including the Calabrian Giusi Princi, to which Raffaele Fitto responded in writing in recent days. In addition to pointing out that the EU Solidarity Fund can cover “part of the costs of emergency and recovery operations supported by public authorities” and that Europe “is ready to guide the authorities”, the executive vice-president of the EU Commission points out that from the European Regional Development Fund for Calabria “156 million euros are still available to support new interventions” in the field of prevention and management of risks caused by natural disasters.
