European Parliament plenary session ratifies €946 million in aid for Spain after the DANA storm

Eduardo González The European Parliament plenary session on Thursday endorsed the mobilization of €946.1 million in European funds to support Spain following the devastating floods of October 2024. With 622 votes in favor, ten against, and three abstentions, MEPs supported allocating €946.1 million from the European Union Solidarity Fund (EUSF) to address the consequences of the Isolated Depression at High Levels (DANA storm), primarily in the Valencian Community. On October 29, 2024, the DANA storm caused unprecedented flooding, especially in the province of Valencia, which claimed the lives of more than 230 people. In their request for assistance, the Spanish authorities estimated the total direct damage caused by the disaster at €20.28 billion, which the Commission reduced to €18.08 billion. The Commission already paid an advance of €100 million to Spain in April 2025 to help launch the recovery operations. In response to these requests, on October 3, the European Commission proposed to the European Parliament and the Council the approval of €946 million in aid from the European Social Fund (ESF), in addition to a reallocation of €645 million from Spain's cohesion policy funds through the RESTORE mechanism, to complement the ESF aid and boost European support for the recovery efforts. On November 5, the proposal was approved by the European Parliament's Committee on Budget and submitted to the plenary session. Once the Council approves the Commission's proposal on mobilizing the EUSF, the remaining balance (the total allocation less the pre-financing already paid) will be disbursed in a single payment. As for the RESTORE funds, payments will be made progressively based on expenditure. The money, as reported this Thursday by the European Parliament's office in Madrid, will be used for the recovery of energy, water, wastewater, telecommunications, transport, health, and education infrastructure, as well as for cleanup operations, temporary accommodation, and rescue services. The proposed EUSF aid to Spain represents the second largest allocation since the Fund's creation in 2002, after the €1.2 billion granted to Italy following the 2015-2016 earthquakes. The Solidarity Fund, the main aid instrument available to the Union to deal with disasters, has provided more than 9.6 billion euros since its creation in response to 136 major crises, of which 116 were natural disasters and 20 were health emergencies, in 24 EU countries (plus the United Kingdom) and four candidate countries.

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