In July, the European Parliament approved the release of €280.7 million from the EU Solidarity Fund (EUSF) to support six countries affected by devastating floods in 2024. Poland will receive €76 million, which will be allocated to repairing infrastructure and cultural heritage sites. However, Polish MEPs remain divided on the fund, citing concerns over bureaucratic delays and the speed of EU intervention. They argue that the EU needs a more effective crisis response system.
“Last year in October, we faced major tragedies—not only in Poland but across many European countries. In 2023, the European Union allocated €6 billion in aid to Poland, while this year, it’s €76 million from the Solidarity Fund. While this amount may not seem as impressive, it’s extremely important. In times of disasters and catastrophes, it’s crucial to provide quick help to people, families, entire villages, and even whole regions, as we saw last year,” said Mirosława Nykiel, an MEP from the Civic Platform party, in an interview with Newseria.
EU Support and Fund Allocation
During the floods in September 2023, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced €10 billion from the Cohesion Fund for affected countries. The July decision provides an additional €280.7 million from the EU Solidarity Fund, distributed as follows: Austria (€42.8 million), Czechia (€114 million), Poland (€76 million), Slovakia (€2.1 million), Bosnia and Herzegovina (€45.7 million), and Moldova (€195,000).
As the EU’s primary instrument for disaster response, the EUSF finances flood recovery measures, including infrastructure repairs and the construction of protective systems to mitigate future events. Since its creation in 2002, the fund has provided over €9.6 billion in response to 136 major crises—116 natural disasters and 20 public health emergencies—across 24 EU member states (as well as the UK) and four candidate countries. The European Parliament has called on the European Commission to significantly increase the fund’s budget in the next EU financial framework. Post-2027, the Commission plans to introduce a new crisis mechanism that would offer loans of up to €400 billion for member states in severe crises.
Growing Demand for Crisis Funds
“We’re facing more and more disasters—floods, droughts, and fires—so we must be better prepared financially and have permanent tools in place. Funds already exist, but they need to be reinforced,” said Andrzej Halicki, an MEP from Civic Platform. “Fortunately, European solidarity remains unquestioned, even by radical parties. The key issue now is the scale of funding. Today, there are no large permanent reserves, and most measures rely on ad-hoc decisions after specific events. It’s time to create permanent, substantial funds for disaster recovery because such catastrophes are becoming more frequent.”
“The Solidarity Fund is a great concept—funded by all member states through contributions to the EU budget, providing grants to countries significantly affected by disasters. However, it needs improvement. The overwhelming bureaucracy causes long delays in receiving assistance. As we say, ‘help given quickly is worth twice as much.’ We need to ensure that this money is released faster, at least for member states, if not for local governments and individuals,” added Maciej Wąsik, an MEP from Law and Justice.
Poland’s Recovery Efforts
According to Wody Polskie (the Polish Water Authority), flood recovery work and the reinforcement of hydraulic structures and riverbeds are still underway. In 2024, over 300 intervention projects are planned on rivers and reservoirs affected by last year’s floods. By the end of 2024, Wody Polskie will have completed 274 projects worth more than 78 million PLN, aimed at restoring safety for residents, protecting property, and safeguarding infrastructure.
“That’s why we need infrastructure investments—retention reservoirs and their construction, which in Poland was once halted, must now move full speed ahead. Funding from the National Recovery Plan (KPO) is available for this purpose,” noted Halicki.
“Not everything has gone smoothly despite the government’s efforts, which included appointing a flood commissioner immediately. We’re rebuilding the hardest-hit regions, especially Lower Silesia and Silesia, but we cannot rebuild everything with national funds alone. Prevention is equally important—drawing lessons from these disasters and planning for the future. This requires significant funding, and I’m glad we’ve passed the Solidarity Fund allocation for additional resources,” added Nykiel. “This demonstrates the EU’s strong solidarity and collective strength, which is why I urge those who try to discredit the EU for political gain to stop misleading people. Without EU funds, we couldn’t accomplish much.”
Climate Change Concerns
According to Copernicus Climate Change Service data, 2024 was the warmest year on record in Europe, with an average temperature of 10.69°C, exceeding the previous record set in 2020 by 0.28°C. For the first time, the average temperature surpassed the 1.5°C threshold compared to pre-industrial levels (1850–1900). Most evidence attributes this to human-induced greenhouse gas emissions.
“We may be living in a time of rising average temperatures, but action should be taken at the local rather than global level. Traditional approaches, such as building retention and fire prevention reservoirs, make sense. However, CO2 reduction policies are pushing Europe’s economy into decline. We can already see this in EU economies. Sometimes I feel that China benefits the most from EU climate regulations because their economy grows while Europe’s shrinks,” commented Wąsik. “The EU accounts for just 8% of global CO2 emissions. Even significant reductions here will not have much impact compared to the actions of the U.S. or China.”
