Luxembourg – On Friday, European Union countries approved an addendum to the Recovery Plan put forth by the Spanish Government, allocating 1.241 billion euros to aid recovery efforts in areas impacted by the storm and to prepare for future natural disasters and crises.
The Economy and Finance ministers sanctioned the amendment during a meeting in Luxembourg, following the initial approval from the community executive on September 19.
According to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Business, the funding will provide “financial coverage” for expenses incurred from urgent aid for the reconstruction of municipalities affected by the storm in October last year in the Community of Valencia, Castilla-La Mancha, and Andalusia.
Furthermore, it will “initiate a phase aimed at resilience and economic modernization,” facilitating the development of strategies to protect the productive sector from environmental risks and economic vulnerabilities linked to international trade or sudden tariff shifts.
The addendum addresses the recovery of transport infrastructure damaged by the storm, the rehabilitation of water systems, the enhancement of climate phenomenon monitoring, and the assessment of support programs for the internationalization of companies affected by the storm.
In addition to this measure, the European Commission last week approved the release of 945 million euros from the EU Solidarity Fund and redirected 645 million euros in cohesion funds to Spain to manage the aftermath of the storm in October 2024.
This latter funding still requires approval from the member states and the European Parliament. (October 10)
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