Disbursement of money from the EU's Solidarity Fund earmarked as aid to flood-affected areas in central Europe will be postponed due to differing opinions between the European Parliament (EP) and the European Council, the TASR newswire reported on Thursday, March 17.
In Slovakia's case the flood-aid amounts to €20.43 million and is intended to alleviate damage caused by extensive floods in May and June 2010. The disagreement means that central European countries will have to wait several more weeks before receiving European aid. The resources, originally set to be paid to the Czech Republic, Croatia, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Romania from the EU 2011 budget, were blocked by the EP's Committee for Budget Issues following allegations that the decision to allocate only €200 million for unpredictable crisis situations, €182.4 million of which would be used early this year, was "unsystematic". The decision on how the budget is to be used will be discussed in a "trialogue" held on March 30 between representatives of the EP, European Commission and EU Council.
Source: TASR
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
