EU Solidarity Fund (EUSF) and the COVID-19 - EU Solidarity Fund
Summary
Budget
Official information source
https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/funding/solidarity-fund/Description
EU Solidarity Fund
The European Union Solidarity Fund (EUSF) supports EU Member States and accession countries by offering financial support after severe natural disasters and, since 2020, major health emergencies.
Flooding is the most commonly funded event by the EUSF.
Source: EC - Audiovisual Service
Earthquakes receive the highest aid from the EUSF due to their significant impact and costliness.
Source: EC - Audiovisual Service
The European Union Solidarity Fund (EUSF) was set up to respond to major natural disasters and express European solidarity to disaster-stricken regions within Europe. The Fund was created as a reaction to the severe floods in Central Europe in the summer of 2002. Since then, it has become one of the main EU instruments for post-disaster recovery and an expression of EU solidarity.
The EU Solidarity Fund is one of the most concrete expressions of EU solidarity. It provides longer-term financial support to Member States hit by natural disasters and brings relief to citizens and regions suffering from the consequences. It also reminds us about the importance of investing in prevention and climate mitigation, in line with the priorities of the European Green Deal.
Elisa Ferreira, Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms
Can I apply for EUSF support?
The Fund aims to complement the efforts of EU Member States and accession countries and cover part of their public expenditure. Therefore,
- Only the national authorities of EU Member States and accession countries can seek help from the EUSF.
- Individual citizens, private companies, and organizations within the affected country cannot submit applications.
What type of costs does the EUSF support?
The EUSF only supports public emergency and recovery operations. It only covers non-insurable damage and does not compensate for private losses.
Thresholds and deadline
To be qualified for EUSF support, a country must fulfil the following conditions:
- the extent of the damage must meet the relevant thresholds (as explained below);
- the application must be submitted within 12 weeks of the date of the first damage caused by the disaster. In case of slowly unfolding disasters, such as droughts or health emergencies, this deadline is set at 12 weeks after the first official action is taken against the emergency.
- In the event of a major natural disaster, the total direct damage must exceed €3 billion in 2011 prices or 0.6% of the GNI of the affected state, whichever is the lower;
- In the event of smaller, so-called regional natural disaster, the total direct damage must exceed 1.5% of regional GDP (at NUTS2 level). For outermost regions the threshold of 1% of regional GDP is applied;
- In the event that an eligible state is affected by the same major natural disaster as an eligible neighbouring state, there is no threshold;
- In the event of a major health emergency, the total cost for the emergency response measures must exceed € 1.5 billion in 2011 prices, or more than 0.3% of the applicant state’s GNI.
Guidance – How to apply for EUSF support
It is strongly recommended that the body responsible for preparing the application establishes early direct contact with the service in charge in DG Regional and Urban Policy, who can offer advice that will help speed up the application process as much as possible.
Contacts
European Commission
DG Regional and Urban Policy
Unit E1/EUSF team
B-1049 Brussels. Belgium
Functional mailbox, REGIO E1 Solidarity Fund: EC-SOLIDARITY-FUND@ec.europa.eu
Inguna Kramina
Inguna.KRAMINA@ec.europa.eu
phone: +32 229-66062
Petra Varhegyi
Petra.VARHEGYI@ec.europa.eu
phone: +32 229-68248
Application EUSF
Any application has to be received by the Commission within 12 weeks of the date of the first damage caused by the disaster. In case of slowly unfolding disasters, such as droughts or health emergencies, this deadline is set at 12 weeks after the first official action is taken against the emergency.
Guidance – Implementation, closure, and auditing processes
The beneficiary State must submit an implementation report to the Commission within six months after the end of the 18-months implementation period.
The report should include a statement justifying of expenditures, details on other funding sources received (such as insurance settlements and compensation from third parties) for the relevant operations and other supporting documents.
Below is a template for the implementation report, a guidance on the implementation and auditing process and a document with questions and answers on different implementation elements.
General information about the European Union Solidarity Fund (EUSF)
Regulations
The regulation for EUSF was set up on 11 November 2002.
The regulation was updated on 15 May 2014. Some of the changes included introducing advance payments, clearer thresholds, and extending the time for submitting applications.
The regulation was updated on 30 March 2020, to include major health emergencies.
Below, you'll find the three different regulations. Additionally, there's a consolidated text which is a document offering an updated and comprehensive version of the legal text. This version incorporates any changes made over time.
- EU Solidarity fund regulation (consolidated text - 2020)
- Regulation (EU) No 461/2020 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30/03/2020 amending Council regulation (EC) No 2012/2002
- Regulation (EU) No 661/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 amending Council Regulation (EC) No 2012/2002
- Regulation setting up the EUSF (Regulation (EC) n° 2012/2002 of the Council of 11 November 2002, OJ L 311)
What budget does EUSF have?
Solidarity Fund aid can be mobilised up to a maximum annual total of € 500 million (in 2011 prices) plus the unspent allocation from the preceding year which is raised over and above the normal EU budget.
Individual grants must be approved by the European Parliament and the Council following a proposal from the Commission.
One quarter of this amount must remain available on 1 October of every year to meet possible needs through to the end of the year.
In exceptional cases and if the resources remaining for the rest of the year are insufficient, the shortfall may be met out of the next year's budget.
Ex post evaluation report
In May 2019 the Commission published a major evaluation of the work of the EUSF since its creation in 2002 and providing recommendations for the future. The evaluation underlines the high added value of the Fund to support emergency and recovery efforts and to alleviate the financial burden on national and regional authorities. The Fund has provided €5.2 billion, including a record-high €1.2 billion for the 2016/2017 earthquakes in Central Italy.
The report has also identified room for improvement in terms of speed, coherence, effectiveness and public awareness of the interventions.
Articles in Panorama
Panorama is the official magazine of the Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy of the European Commission. It serves as a platform to communicate the European Union's regional and urban policies to the general public. Panorama highlights the positive impact of these policies.
Press releases
Find press releases concerning the fund in the Press corner by searching for "EUSF".
Data and information about EUSF interventions
Since the European Union Solidarity Fund (EUSF) was created in 2002 until February 2024, it has been used for 110 natural disasters covering a range of different catastrophic events including floods, forest fires, earthquakes, storms, and drought.
The Fund has also been mobilised for 20 interventions as a response to public health emergencies.
24 Member States (plus the UK) and 4 accession countries (Albania, Montenegro, Serbia, and Türkiye) have been supported so far for an amount of over EUR 8.6 billion.
More data on the Solidarity Fund action since 2002 and examples of EUSF interventions is presented in this datastory: EU Solidarity Fund - supporting disaster recovery 2002-2022.
Below you find lists of the interventions funded by EUSF, one for natural disasters and another one for health emergencies.
