THE SLOVAK Finance Ministry will seek relief funds from the EU Solidarity Fund before July 16, the deadline to submit an estimate of flood damages according to EU rules, the TASR newswire reported.
“According to EU rules, requests for financial assistance from the EU Solidarity Fund must be filed not later than 10 weeks from the day the first damages occurred,” the Finance Ministry wrote in the material which was discussed at the cabinet session on July 14, as reported by TASR.
A country is eligible for contributions from the EU Solidarity Fund if damages exceed 0.6 percent of the country’s gross national income in the previous year. For Slovakia that means that the flood damages must exceed €378.21 million.
Presently the losses are estimated to be over €695 million, most of that in agricultural damage which are estimated at €575.86 million. The amount does not include the damages still expected to be reported by the Government Office, the Culture Ministry, the Office of Nuclear Supervision, or the former Construction Ministry, TASR wrote.
