European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pledged the EC would release €2.25 billion in relief funds to support Greece following the devastating floods during her joint statements with Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Tuesday in Strasbourg.
The top EC bureaucrat stressed the procedures would be swift and flexible and that the EU would mobilise all available resources to support Greece after the disasters caused by the bad weather.
The Commission President announced five sources of funding for Greece.
“Europe stands by the weak and I want you to know that we will stand by Greece and the Greeks,” von der Leyen added, noting that solidarity was the subject of the meeting which was preceded by the participation of Greek ministers and European commissioners.
The Commission President also announced the creation of a task force “which will start its work today”. “Together we will find the best ways to support the Greeks. Greeks can rely on Europe for quick support, and flexibility. We are with you to rebuild and rebuild,” concluded Ms. von der Leyen.
For his part, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, after thanking Ursula von der Leyen for the speed with which she responded to the request for today’s meeting, then stressed that Greece has recently faced two of the worst natural disasters: the mega-fire in Evros and the Daniel storm.
The Prime Minister once again expressed his condolences to those who lost their lives and thanked the civil protection forces, the armed forces, and volunteers.
He even showed photos of the village of Metamorfosi on how it looked before and after the bad weather Daniel.
“We had significant damage to agricultural production and infrastructure but the first priority is people’s lives,” Mitsotakis added.
“It is important that the aid that will be given in the next period will also include European money,” Mitsotakis added.