EU Parliament Allocates $977.6Mln To Member States To Combat COVID-19, Natural Disasters

Muhammad Irfan Published November 24, 2020 | 04:47 PM

The European Parliament on Tuesday approved 823 million euros ($977.6 million) to assist eight member states in tackling the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic and natural disasters

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 24th November, 2020) The European Parliament on Tuesday approved 823 million Euros ($977.6 million) to assist eight member states in tackling the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic and natural disasters.

"On Tuesday, Parliament approved 823 million in EU aid for the Croatia earthquake, floods in Poland, and the response to the coronavirus crisis in seven EU countries," the parliament said in a press release.

The funds will be provided by the European Union Solidarity Fund (EUSF) and distributed among Germany, Ireland, Greece, Spain, Croatia, Hungary, Portugal and Poland. More than 132.7 million euros will be set aside as advance payments to help the first seven countries to fight the coronavirus pandemic and its consequences.

"Croatia will receive ��683.

7 million to help the country deal with the devastating effects of the earthquake in Zagreb and the surrounding area in March 2020. A first disbursement of ��88.9 million was already released in August 2020," the press release said.

Meanwhile, Poland will receive 7 million euros to carry out reconstruction work in the Podkarpackie Voivodeship province, which severely suffered from floods in June.

In addition, as part of the Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative, the bloc has extended the scope of the EU Solidarity Fund rules to be able to assist member states in responding to major public health emergencies. In total, 19 member states have requested aid to fight COVID-19, with seven of them seeking advance payments that the parliament approved on Tuesday.