Govt adopts changes to natural disaster relief legislation

Ljubljana, 5 August - The government adopted on Saturday changes to the Natural Disaster Recovery Act so that municipalities get financial state aid swiftly, before the final assessments of damage are made, Minister of Natural Resources and Spatial Planning Uroš Brežan told the press after the emergency government session.

Ljubljana, vlada.
Seja vlade, na kateri so se seznanili z aktualnimi razmerami v državi in obravnavali ukrepe po katastrofalni ujmi.
Vodja kabineta predsednika vlade Petra Škofic, predsednik vlade Robert Golob in generalna sekretarka vlade Barbara Kolenko Helbl.
Foto: Boštjan Podlogar/STA

Ljubljana, vlada.
Novinarska konferenca po seji vlade, na kateri so se seznanili z aktualnimi razmerami v državi in obravnavali ukrepe po katastrofalni ujmi.
Evropski komisar za krizno upravljanje Janez Lenarčič.
Foto: Boštjan Podlogar/STA

Ljubljana
Head of the Administration for Civil Protection and Disaster Relief Leon Behin speaking to the press after attending an emergency government session on the catastrophic flash floods.
Photo: Boštjan Podlogar/STA

Ljubljana, vlada.
Novinarska konferenca po seji vlade, na kateri so se seznanili z aktualnimi razmerami v državi in obravnavali ukrepe po katastrofalni ujmi.
Poveljnik Civilne zaščite RS Srečko Šestan.
Foto: Boštjan Podlogar/STA

Ljubljana, vlada.
Novinarska konferenca po seji vlade, na kateri so se seznanili z aktualnimi razmerami v državi in obravnavali ukrepe po katastrofalni ujmi.
Minister za naravne vire in prostor Uroš Brežan.
Foto: Boštjan Podlogar/STA

Ljubljana
European Crisis Management Commissioner Janez Lenarčič (centre) attending an emergency government session on the catastrophic flash floods.
Photo: Boštjan Podlogar/STA

Ljubljana
European Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič speaks to the press after government session.
Photo: Boštjan Podlogar/STA

Ljubljana
European Crisis Management Commissioner Janez Lenarčič speaking to the press after attending an emergency government session on the catastrophic flash floods.
Photo: Boštjan Podlogar/STA

Ljubljana, vlada.
Novinarska konferenca po seji vlade, na kateri so se seznanili z aktualnimi razmerami v državi in obravnavali ukrepe po katastrofalni ujmi.
Foto: Boštjan Podlogar/STA

Ljubljana, vlada.
Novinarska konferenca po seji vlade, na kateri so se seznanili z aktualnimi razmerami v državi in obravnavali ukrepe po katastrofalni ujmi.
Poveljnik civilne zaščite Srečko Šestan in generalni direktor uprave za zaščito in reševanje Leon Behin.
Foto: Boštjan Podlogar/STA

Ljubljana
European Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič.
Photo: Boštjan Podlogar/STA

Ljubljana, vlada.
Novinarska konferenca po seji vlade, na kateri so se seznanili z aktualnimi razmerami v državi in obravnavali ukrepe po katastrofalni ujmi.
V. d. generalnega direktorja uprave za zaščito in reševanje Leon Behin.
Foto: Boštjan Podlogar/STA

Ljubljana
Civil Protection commander Srečko Šestan speaking to the press after attending an emergency government session on the catastrophic flash floods.
Photo: Boštjan Podlogar/STA

Ljubljana
Leon Behin, the head of the Administration for Civil Protection and Disaster Relief, talking to the press.
Photo: Boštjan Podlogar/STA

Ljubljana
European Crisis Management Commissioner Janez Lenarčič (centre) attending an emergency government session on the catastrophic flash floods.
Photo: Boštjan Podlogar/STA

Ljubljana, vlada.
Seja vlade, na kateri so se seznanili z aktualnimi razmerami v državi in obravnavali ukrepe po katastrofalni ujmi.
Evropski komisar za krizno upravljanje Janez Lenarčič.
Foto: Boštjan Podlogar/STA

Ljubljana
European Crisis Management Commissioner Janez Lenarčič and PM Robert Golob at the start of an emergency government session on the catastrophic flash floods.
Photo: Boštjan Podlogar/STA

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This way local communities will be able to help people affected by the flash floods as soon as possible, he added.

The bill brings an option of the state paying the affected municipality in advance 20% of the initially assessed damage to carry out the most urgent repair works.

"This will speed up the allocation of funds in the form of advance payment before the final damage assessment and the final recovery programme are adopted."

The bill also changes some of the rules for damages in agriculture; for instance, farmers who have insured their crops will be able to get 100% payment for the lost crops based on the de minimis scheme.

An important change is retroactivity, said Brežan, explaining that the 20% advance payment rule will apply to damage from natural disasters suffered since 1 January 2023.

He said it now seems the bill will be fast-tracked through parliament next week. PM Robert Golob said earlier this could happen on Tuesday or Wednesday.

The changes the bill brings were presented to the press earlier this week as they were discussed with representatives of all three associations of municipalities.

The government was expected to adopt the changes after the summer recess on 17 August, but the latest flash floods prompted it to do it earlier.

Aug 5, 2023, 17:17 eho/las/gz