Lesvos to get 1.3 mln in EU aid for quake damage
The eastern Aegean island of Lesvos, which was struck by a deadly earthquake last summer, is set to receive 1.3 million euros from the European Union’s Solidarity Fund, according to a proposal by the EU’s Regional Policy Commission.
The sum is part of a total 104 million euros that the Commission wants to disburse to four EU member-states that were hit by natural disasters in 2017.
The Commission said the EU Solidarity Fund money can be used “to support reconstruction efforts and cover some of the costs of emergency services, temporary accommodation, cleanup operations and protection of cultural heritage, in order to relieve the financial burden borne by national authorities.”
Regional Policy Commissioner Corina Cretu said: “In Portugal, in Spain, and the Greek island of Lesvos far off in the Aegean Sea to the French outermost regions in the Caribbean, the EU leaves no one alone in the face of tragedy. Once again the Solidarity Fund shows the EU’s unfailing support for reconstruction works following natural disasters and for helping rebuilding people’s lives.”
The Commission’s proposal needs to be first approved by the European Parliament and Council.
Lesvos had received the first disbursement of aid worth almost 136,000 euros in October 2017.
