Speaking ahead of today's vote on The EU Solidarity Fund, GUE/NGL MEP Younous Omarjee stressed the importance of the fund for the outermost regions.

 

“Outermost regions are particularly vulnerable to extreme climate events. Just a few weeks ago the island of Reunion and the island of Mayotte were hit by a tropical cyclone that caused serious damage to infrastructure and had an effect on the economy, particularly the farming sector.”

 

The Solidarity Fund was devised to react to natural disasters in severely affected regions within the EU as well as in candidate states. Parliament is expected to vote for brand-new rules for the Fund, with the aim of simplifying procedures, and cutting the time between requests for assistance and payments to the regions in need. Furthermore, it will establish the option to make advance payments.