The European Union Solidarity Fund

It was following the devastating floods which hit Central Europe in August 2002 that, following a European Commission proposal, a new European financial instrument was created, distinct from the structural instruments: the European Union Solidarity Fund (EUSF). The 2003 heatwave, with its particularly dramatic consequences for Mediterranean regions ravaged by forest fires and drought, left no doubt about the importance of effectively organising European solidarity in response to major disasters.

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