Malta will receive over Lm417,000 - €960,000 - in compensation from the EU for the damage caused by the floods last September, the college of commissioners decided yesterday.

Responding to requests made by the Maltese, French and Spanish authorities, the European Commission yesterday proposed to mobilise the EU Solidarity Fund for grants to deal with disasters in several regions.

The money (€21.9 million in total) will be used for reimbursing the cost of emergency measures such as rescue services, providing for temporary accommodation, energy and water and repairs to the basic infrastructure.

The commissioners noted that heavy storms and flooding in Malta on September 15, 2003 caused severe disruption to economic activity, including fish farming installations at sea and damage to infrastructure and the natural environment.

The Commission considered this disaster to qualify for aid under the "major disaster" criterion of the EUSF regulation.

The total direct damage is estimated at €30.17 million, of which the Solidarity Fund will contribute to compensate costs linked to emergency operations (emergency operations eligible for EUSF aid amount to €11.3 million).

In conformity with the rules of the Solidarity Fund the Commission proposed an amount of €0.961 million to be granted to Malta.

The other EUSF allotment was given to France following the flooding which hit the Rhône river valley on December 1. An amount of €19.62 million is to be allocated.

The third allotment relates to the forest fires which engulfed Spain in August 2003, with total direct damage from this disaster estimated at €53.23 million. The Commission proposed an amount of €1.331 million to be granted.

The commissioner responsible for regional policy, Michel Barnier, conveyed his sympathy to all the citizens in the affected regions.

"The Commission's proposal expresses the Union's solidarity with these regions and will notably serve to restore infrastructure and to reimburse the costs of emergency measures," he said.

Budget Commissioner Michaele Schreyer said the Solidarity Fund was geared towards major disasters, as was the case with Malta, or those causing serious damage to regional economies, as was the case in France and Spain.

She called on the council and parliament to take their decision in order to allow the funds to rapidly reach the affected regions.

To enable a quick decision by the council and the European parliament, the Commission yesterday adopted the corresponding proposal to mobilise the Solidarity Fund and a proposal for an amending budget.

Ms Schreyer will present the proposal to the council and parliament at the forthcoming budget trilogue on March 16 and a decision could be taken by the end of April at the latest.

To qualify for aid under the Solidarity Fund, countries hit by a major disaster had to provide a precise estimate of the damage and meet specific criteria, ensuring that EU funds are used to meet the most urgent needs.

In the case of three other applications from Greece, France and Italy, the Commission concluded that these did not meet the conditions set out by the regulation for mobilising the Solidarity Fund.

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