Eduardo González
The European Parliament’s Committee on Budgets approved on Wednesday the mobilization of €946.1 million in European funds to support Spain following the devastating floods of October 2014.
With 31 votes in favor and one abstention, MEPs gave their approval to the European Commission’s proposal to allocate this amount, from the European Union Solidarity Fund (EUSF), to address the consequences of the Isolated Depression at High Levels (DANA).
On October 29, 2014, the DANA storm caused unprecedented flooding, particularly in the province of Valencia, which claimed the lives of more than 230 people. In their request for aid, the Spanish authorities estimated the total direct damage caused by the disaster at €20.28 billion, which the Commission reduced to €18.08 billion.
Following the tragedy, local authorities requested the intervention of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism for the emergency response, and the Spanish government requested the activation of the Solidarity Fund to mitigate the consequences.
In response to these requests, the European Commission proposed on October 3 to the European Parliament and the Council the approval of €946 million in aid from the EU Solidarity Fund, in addition to a reallocation of €645 million from Spain’s cohesion policy funds through the RESTORE mechanism, to complement the EU Solidarity Fund aid and boost European support for recovery efforts.
The money, as reported this Wednesday by the European Parliament’s office in Madrid, will be dedicated to the recovery of energy, water, wastewater, telecommunications, transport, health, and education infrastructure, as well as to cleanup operations, temporary accommodation, and rescue services.
The draft report, which still needs to be voted on in plenary session of the European Parliament, highlights the urgent need to mobilize immediate financial assistance through the Solidarity Fund to ensure that aid reaches the affected regions quickly. MEPs also stress that, in the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), the Fund’s budget, or its equivalent, must provide aid commensurate with the scale of the disasters and meet the needs of the affected citizens.
Once the European Parliament and the Council approve the Commission’s proposal on mobilizing the EU Solidarity Fund, the remaining balance (the total allocation less the pre-financing already paid) will be disbursed in a single payment. The Commission already paid an advance of €100 million to Spain in April 2025 to help launch the recovery operations. Regarding RESTORE funds, payments will be made progressively based on expenditure.
The proposed EU Solidarity Fund (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 EUSF, the Union’s main disaster relief instrument, has provided more than €9.6 billion since its inception in response to 136 major crises, of which 116 were natural disasters and 20 were health emergencies, in 24 EU countries (plus the UK) and four candidate countries.
