European Union Solidarity Fund

The European Parliament adopted a resolution drafted by Rolf BEREND (EPP-ED, Germany) on the Commission's proposal. A major disaster within the meaning of the regulation will mean one resulting, in at least one of the States concerned, in damage estimated either at over EUR 1 billion in 2002 prices or at more than 0.5% of its GDP. Parliament amended the text so that the Fund could be implemented in the case of "major disasters" and not "natural, technological or environmental disasters," as the Commission had proposed. Further amendments include: -a new part recital stating that, in fixing the amount of assistance, any insurance claims that may arise should not be taken into account, since processing and estimating all insurance claims would not be possible at short notice. -there should be a deadline of three months, rather than two, for the affected State to apply for assistance from the Fund. Private funding does not have to part of the calculation which the affected State must make, but where a third party meets some or all of the costs of repair, the State must reimburse a corresponding amount to the Commission.�