European Union offers funding to help with the repair of flood damage

The European Union (EU) has offered to help Poland repair damage from severe flooding by reallocating funds targeted at helping it prepare for membership of the bloc. EU enlargement commissioner Guenter Verheugen has already pledged an extra euro 15 million in aid after floods and storms killed 29 people in July, damaging roads, bridges and buildings and inundating tracts of farmland. The EU's ambassador to Warsaw, Bruno Dethomas, said more money could be made available from the PHARE development program's existing budget for Poland of euro 452 million for this year. "The commission does not rule out, if the need arises, redeploying funds from certain other PHARE projects, as long as that does not affect Poland's preparations to join the EU," Dethomas told a news conference. Estimated costs of the flood damage run into billions of zlotys. Dethomas said he hoped the EU commission would sign off on an action plan soon which would enable an agreement to be reached with the Polish government in October. The first cash should start to flow by the end of the year, he told reporters. (Reuters)