Last week, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen mentioned five flood-stricken member states that could receive EU aid, but Hungary was not among them. A spokesperson for the commission was quick to react to the president's "mistake", stating that the EU aid for member states affected by the flooding is available for Hungary.
EU support is, of course, available to all member states concerned, including Hungary,
the spokesperson said
At the time of the statement, only the five countries mentioned - Austria, the Czech Republic, Romania, Poland and Slovakia - had submitted damage data, the spokesperson pointed out.
However, the situation is not nearly so simple. Brussels' pledge is misleading, because the aid is tied to conditions.
The 10 billion euros from the EU Cohesion Fund will only help countries that meet the criteria, that is,
in the event of a severe natural disaster, financial aid is provided if the total direct damage caused by the disaster exceeds 3 billion euros (at 2011 prices) or 0.6% of an EU country's gross national income (GNI), whichever is lower.
Hungary responded quickly and effectively, so the damage is expected to be below the threshold, although no concrete data are available yet, as flood protection efforts are not over.
In other words, Hungary will receive no help from Brussels, because the country tackled the challenges and effectively protected itself against the flood.
In contrast, other member states have suffered serious damage. After the devastating floods in Poland, the first damage assessments were carried out. The damages in the worst-affected region was estimated at nearly 935 million euros. In Austria, flood claims totaling 700 million euros are expected at this point, although this figure is likely to rise. In Romania, the damage is estimated at 12.5 million euros, while in Slovakia at 20 million euros.
Cover photo: Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (Photo: AFP)
