Drought-hit Spain is out of pocket

By Teresa Küchler

Date: 14/07/05

Drought-struck Spain is missing out on financial help from the EU after suffering its worst water-shortage for 60 years.

Harvests are half their usual size, swimming pools are empty and numerous public beaches have closed because there is no fresh water in the showers. With the main tourist season beginning, total losses for Spain are already estimated at roughly €4 billion.

At the end of April, the Spanish government wrote to Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel about the EU's Solidarity Fund, which was established after severe floods in Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic and France in the summer of 2002, and aims to "respond in a rapid, efficient and flexible manner to come to the aid of any member state in the event of a major natural disaster".

Spanish centre-right MEP Esther Herranz accused the socialist government of "writing a letter to the wrong person asking how to make a demand. Then they forgot to make the actual demand".

Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said that severe cases of drought should be defined as natural disasters and therefore fit the criteria for turning to the Solidarity Fund. He said the European Commission was "very preoccupied by the seriousness of the drought" and promised that "any demand from Spanish authorities" would be "seriously considered".

In May the European Parliament approved a resolution asking the Commission to release credit from the fund for Spain.

Adjustments have been made to the Common Agricultural Policy rules, to allow use of set-aside land and ease crop-related payments.

But the Commission has not received any demand from Spain about the Solidarity Fund.

Spanish Agricultural Minister Elena Espinosa said it had not been made because Spain was not likely to live up to the criteria, as the fund did not hand out help for individual farmers, who are those most affected by the drought, only to public losses.

Danuta Hübner, commissioner for regional policy, agreed, saying that the fund should only be used for "natural disasters", not for "agricultural problems".

But Herranz said: "Spain should at least be able to get some help from the Solidarity Fund for recovering public losses, like ponds, reservoirs. It is better than nothing."

Article reports that Spain, which in the summer of 2005 was being hit by the worst water-shortage for 60 years, was missing out on financial help from the EU. Spain had not officially asked for support from the European Solidarity Fund, because most of the losses occurred in the agricultural sector, while the fund is meant to support Member States recover public losses.