Slovenia requests European Solidarity Fund aid
Ljubljana, 5 August - The Slovenian government has decided to ask the European Commission for aid from the European Solidarity Fund after heavy flooding affected about two-thirds of the country.
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
Laško
Floods in Laško near the city of Celje in east-central Slovenia.
Photo: Laško Municipality
A country is eligible for European Solidarity Fund aid if damage exceeds 0.6% of gross domestic product.
Preliminary estimates put the damage at half a billion euros, but given how much infrastructure has been destroyed the damage could be significantly higher.
European Solidarity Fund grants can be used to finance healthcare, immediately repair infrastructure, and repair energy, drinking water, wastewater, telecommunications and education facilities.
The decision came at a session on Saturday that also featured European Crisis Management Commissioner Janez Lenarčič.
He said Slovenia had several other instruments at its disposal, including the Civil Protection Mechanism, the EU's agricultural reserve, as well as available resources in existing EU programmes such as cohesion funds, funds from the European Regional Development Fund, and the European Recovery and Resilience Facility.
The government has already requested assistance through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism,