Agriculture, EU Regional Policy, EU – Baltic States, Financial Services, Funds, Latvia

The decision was approved by 402 votes to 25, with seven abstentions.

The aid comes from the EU Solidarity Fund (EUSF) which has been set up to respond to major natural disasters and express European solidarity to disaster-stricken regions within Europe. The Fund was created as a reaction to the severe floods in Central Europe in the summer of 2002. Since then, it has been used for 80 disasters covering a range of different catastrophic events including floods, forest fires, earthquakes, storms and drought. 24 different European countries have been supported so far for an amount of over 5 bln euros.

The aid is intended to help restore essential infrastructure, reimburse the cost of emergency measures and cover the costs of some of the clean-up operations.

As reported, in August, September, October Latvia was affected by rain and floods that damaged grain fields, melioration systems, roads and railway infrastructure.

Agricultural Minister Janis Duklavs (Greens/Farmers) had estimated that the floods have caused 37.3 mln euros loss to farmers. The Latvian government earmarked 14.87 mln euros in compensations for farmers from the contingency funds.