The European Parliament,

–  having regard to the Commission proposal to the European Parliament and the Council (COM(2021)0201 – C9‑0117/2021),

–  having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 2012/2002 of 11 November 2002 establishing the European Union Solidarity Fund(1),

–  having regard to Regulation (EU) 2020/461 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 March 2020 amending Council Regulation (EC) No 2012/2002 in order to provide financial assistance to Member States and to countries negotiating their accession to the Union that are seriously affected by a major public health emergency(2),

–  having regard to Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2020/2093 of 17 December 2020 laying down the multiannual financial framework for the years 2021 to 2027(3), and in particular Article 9 thereof,

–  having regard to the Interinstitutional Agreement of 16 December 2020 between the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the European Commission on budgetary discipline, on cooperation in budgetary matters and on sound financial management, as well as on new own resources, including a roadmap towards the introduction of new own resources(4), in particular point 10 thereof,

–  having regard to the letter from the Committee on Regional Development,

–  having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgets (A9-0157/2021),

1.  Welcomes the decision as a concrete, tangible and visible form of the Union’s solidarity with the Union’s citizens and regions hit by natural disasters and the major public health emergency caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020;

2.  Applauds the widening of the scope of Regulation (EC) No 2012/2002 from March 2020 to include major public health emergencies, such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic;

3.  Expresses empathy and solidarity with all the victims of devastating natural disasters and the COVID-19 pandemic;

4.  Stresses the urgent need to release financial assistance through the European Union Solidarity Fund (the ‘Fund’) and the importance of ensuring that it adequately reaches the regions and beneficiaries in the affected countries;

5.  Regrets the considerable amount of time taken to assess the applications for financial assistance due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 submitted by the official final deadline of 24 June 2020, resulting in the Commission submitting its proposal for the mobilisation of the Fund only at the end of March 2021; underlines the importance of the rapid mobilisation of the Fund in the future to provide much-needed relief after major natural disasters or major public health emergencies;

6.  Points out that, due to climate change, natural disasters will become increasingly violent and recurrent; stresses that certain regions, such as islands and coastal regions, are particularly at risk of being affected by natural disasters; emphasises that the Fund is only a curative instrument and that climate change requires first and foremost a preventive policy to avert the future consequences of climate change in line with the Paris Agreement and the European Green Deal; reiterates the importance of investing in climate mitigation and adaptation for particularly vulnerable regions and of ensuring effective synergies between the Fund and relevant Union funding programmes;

7.  Approves the decision annexed to this resolution;

8.  Instructs its President to sign the decision with the President of the Council and arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union;

9.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution, including its annex, to the Council and the Commission.

(1) OJ L 311, 14.11.2002, p. 3. (2) OJ L 99, 31.03.2020, p. 9. (3) OJ L 433 I, 22.12.2020, p. 11. (4) OJ L 433 I, 22.12.2020, p. 28.

DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

on the mobilisation of the European Union Solidarity Fund to provide assistance to Greece and France in relation to natural disasters and to Albania, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czechia, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Spain in relation to a public health emergency

(The text of this annex is not reproduced here since it corresponds to the final act, Decision (EU) 2021/885.)