The European Commission said Tuesday it would propose ¤9.3 million (US$12 million) in aid be taken EU coffers to help pay for damages caused by flooding in Greece's northeastern Evros region last year, the Associated Press reported. The aid will come from the European Union's Solidarity Fund, which was set up in 2002 to provide financial aid to member states in wake of natural disasters. The Evros region had been «severely affected» by flooding both last year and in 2005, EU Regional Policy Commissioner Danuta Huebner said. «The grant will help to offset the financial costs incurred in restoring basic infrastructures and in taking other emergency measures,» she said in a statement. Flooding in March caused significant damage on the eastern border of Greece, damaging farmland, transport and water supply networks, which officials estimated at around ¤372 million (US$489 million). The aid still needs approval from all EU governments and the European Parliament before it can be disbursed, which is expected in the coming months.
