Today, the European Commission is taking further steps to support Member States affected by unprecedented climate-related disasters.

As announced by European Commission President von der Leyen during her visit to Poland on 19 September 2024, the Commission is proposing amendments to three EU regulations to ensure that EU funds can be quickly mobilised in support of post-disaster recovery. The amendments concern the Regulations governing the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Cohesion Fund (CF), and the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+), for the 2021-2027 programming period, as well as the Regulation of the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) as part of the 2014–2022 framework.

These proposals come as a direct response to the floods affecting Central and Eastern European countries and wildfires in Portugal in September 2024. The proposals taken together could allow the seven concerned Member States (Poland, Romania, Austria, Czechia, Hungary, Portugal, and Slovakia) to reprogramme around €18 billion (roughly €17.7 billion under the Cohesion Policy funds and €588 million under the EAFRD) to help in the context of climate-related disasters. These measures will ensure that the EU can flexibly support all Member States impacted by recent and potential future climate-related disasters.