Today we reflect on the impact of the recent extreme weather events that have struck big parts of Europe, including Spain, Portugal, Italy, Malta and Greece.
First, on behalf of the Commission, I extend my heartfelt condolences to the families and communities mourning the loss of loved ones, and I stand in solidarity with those who have seen their homes, livelihoods, and sense of security swept away in a matter of hours.
From the very beginning, the Commissions Emergency Response Coordination Centre has been in close contact with civil protection authorities in the affected countries, exchanging information and ensuring support is promptly available, if required.
We improved our understanding of the situation thanks to our scientific partnership on natural hazards. In parallel, Portugal, Italy, and Spain proactively activated Copernicus to receive satellite images, enabling national authorities to better assess damage and guide their response efforts on the ground.
The European Union, through the Union Civil Protection Mechanism, stands ready to assist with teams and equipment if requested by the affected Member States.
Beyond immediate emergency response, we must also consider the economic and social consequences. Support tools under the Common Agricultural Policy can be activated to assist farmers and forest holders who have suffered severe production losses or damage to their production potential. These measures are essential to protect rural livelihoods and food security.
The Flood Directive is our key instrument for flood risk management. It requires that our Member States map risks and develop plans to strengthen their prevention, protection and preparedness. These documents are reviewed regularly, but extreme weather events fuelled by climate change are a reminder that we need to step up our game.
Investing in preparedness always pays off, both economically and in lives saved.
This is precisely why the Commission adopted the Preparedness Union Strategy and the European Water Resilience Strategy last year.
These strategies underline the importance of anticipation, readiness, and resilience.
By combining strong national capacities with effective European cooperation, we can better safeguard our citizens, ecosystems, and economies against increasingly severe meteorological events.
Contributions across preparedness, stockpiling, peer reviews, advisory missions, and new legislation under the Union Civil Protection Mechanism are all central to this effort.
At the heart of this approach lies one of our flagship principles: preparedness by design. This means embedding preparedness across all sectors, not treating crisis management as a standalone exercise limited to civil protection.
Our policies, legislation, and financial instruments must be crisis- and disaster-proof by default. The Commission is committed to providing technical expertise and integrated solutions to help Member States address these growing challenges.
As recovery efforts are already underway, the European Union again stands ready to support affected communities. The European Union Solidarity Fund was created to contribute to post-disaster relief in Member States and accession countries confronted with devastating natural disasters. It can cover part of public expenditure for essential emergency and recovery operations after major or regional natural disasters.
The Commission strongly encourages and promotes better coordination and complementarity between the post-disaster emergency and recovery operations supported by the EU Solidarity Fund and more structural investments.
This includes using other EU funds, including cohesion policy funding, for investments aimed at mitigating climate change, as well as the European Social Fund and Erasmus+ for training and skilling of the workforce and volunteering for preparedness and recovery.
We stand ready to assess all options of support and assist the national and regional authorities in implementing the actions.
As summer and droughts approach together with the risk of wildfires we are also working on this dimension. Our upcoming Communication on Integrated Wildfire Risk Management will provide a strategic roadmap to address wildfires in the short and long-term.
Unfortunately, we know that the tragic events in Spain, Portugal, Italy, Malta and Greece will not be the last of this magnitude. And the European Climate Risk Assessment of 2024 showed clearly that we are not sufficiently prepared. We must radically step up preparedness for climate impacts.
The Commission is therefore also preparing a European Integrated Framework for Climate Resilience, an agenda of support to build resilience by design.
It will include a lean legislative proposal and supportive measures. People, companies and policymakers need better information about the climate realities that they are likely to face, and what they can do about it.
The Integrated Framework will support clarity on risk ownership, harness the knowledge on the ground, and cater for flexibilities to account for the particular circumstances of each member state.
The success of these initiatives ultimately also depends on your support. Let us continue to foster solidarity, resilience, and cooperation across our continent, ensuring we are best equipped to protect our people and environments against extreme weather challenges.