Local Lib Dem MEP welcomes vote on Euro flood funding

2.04.00pm GMT Thu 28th Feb 2008

Further to today's vote in the European Parliament's Budget Committee regarding EU Solidarity funding, local Lib Dem MEP Graham Watson who has led the region's case in the European Parliament explained the EU was already working to finalise over £115 million for the UK.

After meeting local and Westminster MPs from Gloucestershire Mr Watson the Lib Dem MEP for the South West and Gibraltar said,

"In December the European Commissioner for Regional Policy, Danuta Hubner, announced the UK should receive £115million of Solidarity funding to help clean up damage from last summer's floods. The allocation of funding will be approved today by the European Parliament's Budget Committee before a final vote to confirm the decision in Parliament on 10th March.

I appreciate the concern constituents will have over how long this process is taking; initiatives which Liberal Democrat MEP's have taken to change the rules and speed up this process have been blocked by member states, including the UK.

I will continue to press the case for funding to aid our Councils in Gloucestershire. I have also written to Hazel Blears at the Department for Communities and Local Government to ensure the Westcountry gets its fair share of this funding, as I do not want to see the huge clean-up bill falling on already overstretched local authority budgets, leading to increases in Council Tax.

This is the EU at its best, if there are forest fires in Portugal for example we all chip in to help, and when national disaster hits the UK we also benefit from the same spirit of solidarity."

Editors note:-

Around 48,000 homes and 7,000 businesses were affected in the South West, the Midlands, Yorkshire and Humberside in June and July. The European Union Solidarity Fund set up after the catastrophic flooding which hit Central Europe in summer 2002, is designed to provide fast, effective and flexible emergency financial aid to areas struck by natural disasters. Member States must submit an application for funding no later than 10 weeks after the first damage.