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The European Commission grants €319 million to Croatia to finance its reconstruction after several earthquakes


Written by Eric Apim on Tuesday, January 4th 2022 à 16:40 | Read 300 times



The successive earthquakes caused a lot of damage (photo: Croatian Ministry of Defence-MORH/F.Klen)
The successive earthquakes caused a lot of damage (photo: Croatian Ministry of Defence-MORH/F.Klen)
CROATIA. The European Commission has approved €319 million in aid to Croatia to help rebuild the country after several earthquakes.
In December 2020 and January 2021, the districts of Sisak-Moslavina, Karlovac and Zagreb were hit by a series of earthquakes.

This funding under the EU Solidarity Fund (EUSF) will contribute to the restoration of essential infrastructure in the fields of energy, water and waste water, telecommunications, transport, health and education. An advance payment of €41m was already made in August 2021. The balance was paid on 30 December 2021.

On Sunday 22 March 2020, Zagreb and its suburbs also suffered a major earthquake with a magnitude of 5.4 and seven aftershocks. The strongest felt in 140 years in the Croatian capital. In October 2020, the European Commission granted support of €683.7 million with an advance of €88.9 million granted in August 2020.

Italy main beneficiary of the EUSF

"The financial support from the EU Solidarity Fund to Croatia will contribute to the essential recovery efforts after the devastation left by the earthquakes and is a visible sign of the EU's solidarity," said Elisa Ferreira, European Commissioner for Cohesion and Reform.

Created after the floods in central Europe in the summer of 2002, the EUSF has since intervened in 80 cases of natural disasters (forest fires, earthquakes, floods, storms, drought). Covering twenty-four European countries, its support has amounted to €5.53bn as of November 2019 (latest figures available). The most assisted was Italy with €2.79bn received since its creation to overcome the damage caused by four earthquakes (Molise, Abruzzo, Emilia-Romagna), floods in several regions and the eruption of Mount Etna in October 2002. The second was Germany (€1bn) and the third was France (€252.6m for floods in mainland France and cyclones and hurricanes).

By 31 December 2021, including the two earthquake envelopes mentioned above, Croatia has received a total of €1.02bn to date from this facility.



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