Floods in Europe: We need more money for climate adaptation

The dramatic floods in Austria, Poland and the Czech Republic are coming to a head. Meanwhile, the resources in the EU budget for mitigating the damage exhausted . The Greens/EFA group has therefore called for an increase in funding of €40 million for the 2025 draft budget. The EU Commission’s draft budget envisaged a total of €203 million for 2025, €37 million less than in 2024. The Council has confirmed the cut. The Greens/EFA are not satisfied with this and are calling for a total of €40 million more for the Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM).

Rasmus Andresen, budget spokesperson for the Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament, said: “In the face of increasing threats such as natural disasters, we need a coordinated response and support from the Union Civil Protection Mechanism. In addition, the EU Solidarity Fund has also been exhausted and there is no further room for manoeuvre. The margins for the entire MFF (2021-2027) have already been exhausted and money has already been requested this year from countries that suffered from floods and forest fires in 2023. Civil protection and climate adaptation must therefore be rethought and redesigned in the new financial framework, as natural disasters triggered by climate change will continue to increase. The new EU Commission and the Member States need to address this matter urgently!”

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