Leaders of flood-hit regions meet in Poland to discuss EU aid

Leaders from the four countries hit by Storm Boris will meet in Poland on Thursday with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to discuss aid for the flood-hit region.

The death toll from the storm that has hit central and eastern Europe in recent days rose to 24 on Wednesday, with some areas still threatened by rising waters.

Strong winds and heavy rains have been hitting the region since last week, killing five people in Austria, seven in Poland, seven in Romania and five people in the Czech Republic.

The meeting between Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, his Czech counterpart Petr Fiala, Slovakian Robert Fico and Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer will take place in Wroclaw, a historic city of 670,000 people in southwestern Poland.

Hit by devastating floods in 1997, Wroclaw residents are increasingly concerned about rising water levels.

They are expected to peak on Thursday.

Although this level is expected to be lower than that of 1997, the dams could be threatened if the flood lasts for several days.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who cancelled all international engagements this week due to the storm, will not attend the meeting even though his country has also been badly hit.

The Romanian Prime Minister will also be absent due to a meeting on defense.

Fiala said on X on Wednesday that the leaders would “discuss possibilities for European financial aid to the Czech Republic and other Central European countries.”

– “Even better coordination” –

Commission deputy spokesperson Arianna Podesta told reporters that von der Leyen “will visit the risk area of ​​Wroclaw to assess the situation created by the heavy flooding and rains that have recently hit Poland.”

“It will discuss the measures taken by the authorities to respond to this crisis,” she added.

“We must use and expand the instruments that were created for disasters like this. I will call on Poland to activate the EU Civil Protection Mechanism,” the Austrian spokesman said.

The Czech Republic has already requested activation of the mechanism to receive aid.

Nehammer said the summit would also discuss “even better coordination of flood protection measures.”

In Poland, several towns and villages have been devastated by flood waters that have demolished houses, collapsed bridges and seriously damaged road and rail infrastructure.

In some areas, residents still lack clean water and electricity.

Local fundraising initiatives have been organised across the country as local authorities begin to assess the damage, which could amount to billions of zlotys.

The Polish government has announced that it has released 470 million euros (two billion zlotys) in direct aid to people and communities affected by the floods.

Austria has announced that its relief fund will be increased to one billion euros to help flood victims.

burs-bo/rox/ach