Poland says no immediate need to request EU aid for floods

Polish emergency services are fully equipped and well prepared to deal with the ongoing flood crisis, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Tuesday, adding that there was no immediate need to request the activation of the EU's civil protection mechanism.

Over the past few days, torrential rains have severely impacted Central and Eastern European countries, including Poland, Czechia, Slovakia, Austria and Romania.

On Monday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD, S&D) offered assistance to EU partners through the EU's emergency mechanism in response to the floods but said that no requests for assistance had yet been registered.

On a visit to the flood-hit regions, Tusk said Poland could benefit from EU assistance in the form of equipment or people, such as medical rescue teams, under the EU mechanism. However, for the time being, there is no need to request equipment from this mechanism, he stressed.

Established in 2001, the mechanism aims to strengthen civil protection cooperation between EU countries and 10 participating countries to improve disaster prevention, preparedness and response. It enables specialised teams and equipment, such as fire-fighting aircraft, search and rescue, and medical teams, to be mobilised at short notice at any country’s request.

On Monday, Tusk said he would hold talks with his counterparts from Czechia, Slovakia, Austria and possibly Romania on a joint request for EU aid.

“I want our countries to remain in close contact, as we will together ask the EU to provide financial aid for the damage caused by the floods,” he told reporters, without specifying what kind of aid Warsaw expects from Brussels.

EU to help with flood relief

Instead, Poland could benefit from a fund worth over €1.5 billion that was set up for the affected countries to deal with the damage caused by the floods, Tusk announced at the press conference in Wrocław, a city threatened by the floods.

“It will be well over €1.5 billion ad hoc EU fund, not just for Poland, which we will be able to use, but only after assessing the actual losses,” he said, as quoted by the Polish Press Agency (PAP).

Euractiv understands that the money Tusk mentioned will come from the EU Solidarity Fund (EUSF), which assists EU member states and accession countries in the wake of major natural disasters and, since 2020, major health emergencies.

The Fund was created in response to the severe floods in Central Europe in the summer of 2002. It has since become one of the EU’s main instruments for post-disaster reconstruction and an expression of EU solidarity.

Tusk said he might invite European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (CDU, EPP) to visit Poland to see first-hand the extent of the flooding and the resulting damage.

“It is possible that we will bring here the Commission President in the coming days, maybe even hours, so that she will see with her own eyes how serious the needs are so that the (Commission) reflects on reserving even more funds (for the affected countries),” he told the media.

Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODR, ECR) confirmed on Monday that Czechia was coordinating the possible use of EU funds with Poland and that he had spoken to von der Leyen.

The Czech Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs is discussing with the European Commission the possibility of transferring part of the European aid for the flood damage, said Minister Marian Jurečka, who wants to use part of the EU funds from the National Recovery Plan and the Operational Programme Employment+ to finance repairs after the current devastating floods.

(Aleksandra Krzysztoszek | Euractiv.pl)