The European Union has accepted Bosnia and Herzegovina’s request for funds from the EU Solidarity Fund (EUSF) without any objections and has begun determining the financial assistance that will be available to repair the damage caused by the floods in October 2024, writes Večernji list BiH.
Večernji list has had access to a letter from the Director General for Regional and Urban Policy at the European Commission, Themis Christophidou, to the Chairperson of the Council of Ministers of BiH, Borjana Krišto, stating that the submitted documentation is comprehensive and well-structured, that the reported damages are credible and that no additional information is needed, with the emphasis that the next step is to determine financial assistance to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“We believe that the effects listed in the EUSF application can be reasonably attributed to a flood event caused by a low-pressure system and that Bosnia and Herzegovina’s request is acceptable for assistance from the EUSF. The documentation submitted by the Bosnian and Herzegovinian authorities is comprehensive, detailed and well-structured. The meteorological event was marked by intense precipitation concentrated in a few hours, with the topography of the region contributing to rapid runoff and consequent flooding,” the letter states.
In the documentation submitted by Bosnia and Herzegovina to the European Commission, the amount of damages is 841.85 million euros, and Večernji list has learned that the amount of support from the European Union could be from 5.5 percent to 6.5 percent of the estimated damages, that is, from 46.3 million to 54.7 million euros.
On the night of October 3rd to 4th, parts of the Central Bosnia and Herzegovina-Neretva counties were affected by a large storm. In a short time, a huge amount of rain fell on the earth, which caused flash floods.
The areas of Jablanica, Konjic, Mostar (Drežnica), Fojnica, Kreševo and Kiseljak suffered the most.
Huge material damage was caused, and 27 people lost their lives.
