If approved, €1.2 billion from the EU Solidarity Fund (EUSF) would be used to help fund reconstruction after a series of earthquakes hit central Italy between 24 August 2016 and 18 January 2017. The money would be spent on temporary housing and on repairs to the road network. Public buildings and cultural heritage sites could also be repaired thanks to the fund.

Italian EPP member Giovanni La Via, who is dealing with the proposal on behalf of the Parliament, said: “Europe directly intervenes to alleviate the suffering and the discomfort of the affected population by providing funds for temporary housing and for common infrastructures that are essential to resume life at local level and to recover the history and the tradition of the region.”

The European Commission and the Italian Protezione Civile - the Italina body in charge of disaster intervention and reconstruction - estimate the damage to be to €21.9 billion.

The Italian peninsula is a seismic and volcanic zone. Between August 2016 and January 2017 four regions in the centre of the country - Lazio, Umbria, Abruzzi and Marche - suffered a series of seismic episodes. More than 300 people died and several hundred were hospitalised. In November 2016, 32,000 people were in need of housing assistance. Currently 3,800 temporary accommodations are being built by the Protezione Civile to allow people who are currently displaced to go back to their villages and towns. The four regions also sustained damage to their cultural and architectonic patrimony. Almost half of all surveyed cultural heritage sites are declared unsafe.

Some funding from the EU Solidarity Fund - €30 million - was already released in December 2016. As the 2017 fund is insufficient to cover the total foreseen amount, the European Commission proposes to also use some money from the budget for next year.

MEP will vote on the proposal during the plenary session on 13 September. If approved, funds could be available within weeks.

About the EU Solidarity Fund

The European Union Solidarity Fund provides support to countries struck by natural disasters with serious consequences for people, the economy and the environment. It was established in 2002 following major flooding in central Europe. It allows the EU to support member states and candidate countries.

Since 2002 24 countries have received money from the fund for disasters such as wildfires, drought, floods, storms and earthquakes. The fund can be used to provide rescue services and accommodation, clean up the affected areas, repair infrastructures such as water and electricity systems and roads, as well as protect cultural heritage sites.

The largest recipients of EU Solidarity Fund support (including the proposed earthquake fund for Italy) are:

Ref.: 20170828STO82508