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October 19, 2026

Newsletter

The European Post

Policy • Diplomacy • strategic insight

LATEST
Costa Seizes The 2028-2034 Budget Talks After Ireland StallsRome And Madrid Move To Lift Their Schengen Border Checks SoonProtect Aid Workers Turns Into A Permanent Global EU MechanismEnd-Of-Life Vehicles Regulation Sets 2032 Recycled Plastic QuotaCustoms Handling Fee Set At €2 For Small Parcels Bought OnlineCyprus Gas Pipeline Dispute Tests Brussels And AnkaraUS Russian Diesel Waiver Strains EU Pressure On MoscowSmaller European Commission Idea Tests Leaders’ AppetiteECB Interest Rate Hold Looms Before a Likely December HikeOrganic Farming Regulation Faces Its Decisive Trilogue RoundPort Towage Flag Rules Put Spain France And Italy On A Two Month ClockEquality And Competitiveness Conclusions Go To Ministers In LuxembourgMcEntee Hosts Informal Trade Ministers Meeting To Open New MarketsPassenger Rights Enforcement Deal Hits Strasbourg PlenaryPressure Grows To Trigger EU Blocking Statute Over ICC CurbsParcel Fee Due 1 November As EU Customs Reform Takes ShapeICCAT Annual Meeting Preparation Puts EU Bluefin Gains To The TestPost-2030 Energy Targets Reach Ministers On 29 October In LuxembourgOperation Aspides Needs Ten Ships While Capitals Pledge Only TwoMoldova Accession Talks Reach Halfway With Two More Clusters OpenCosta Seizes The 2028-2034 Budget Talks After Ireland StallsRome And Madrid Move To Lift Their Schengen Border Checks SoonProtect Aid Workers Turns Into A Permanent Global EU MechanismEnd-Of-Life Vehicles Regulation Sets 2032 Recycled Plastic QuotaCustoms Handling Fee Set At €2 For Small Parcels Bought OnlineCyprus Gas Pipeline Dispute Tests Brussels And AnkaraUS Russian Diesel Waiver Strains EU Pressure On MoscowSmaller European Commission Idea Tests Leaders’ AppetiteECB Interest Rate Hold Looms Before a Likely December HikeOrganic Farming Regulation Faces Its Decisive Trilogue RoundPort Towage Flag Rules Put Spain France And Italy On A Two Month ClockEquality And Competitiveness Conclusions Go To Ministers In LuxembourgMcEntee Hosts Informal Trade Ministers Meeting To Open New MarketsPassenger Rights Enforcement Deal Hits Strasbourg PlenaryPressure Grows To Trigger EU Blocking Statute Over ICC CurbsParcel Fee Due 1 November As EU Customs Reform Takes ShapeICCAT Annual Meeting Preparation Puts EU Bluefin Gains To The TestPost-2030 Energy Targets Reach Ministers On 29 October In LuxembourgOperation Aspides Needs Ten Ships While Capitals Pledge Only TwoMoldova Accession Talks Reach Halfway With Two More Clusters Open

Italy Gets €74.9 Million From EU Solidarity Fund After Cyclone Harry

Synnøve Johnson
Legislative Monitor, Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection

Catania: Italy is set to receive €74.9 million from the EU Solidarity Fund to help repair the damage left by Cyclone Harry, which struck Italy and Malta in January 2026. Parliament’s Budgets Committee approved the allocation on Monday 12 October by 34 votes in favour, none against and no abstentions.

The Italian payment is one part of a €489 million package for four member states. Portugal would receive the largest share at €261.5 million, followed by Spain with €149.1 million, Italy with €74.9 million and Malta with €3.7 million. Portugal and Spain requested support for flooding caused by storms in January and February, so the package covers several separate weather events rather than a single disaster.

The EU Solidarity Fund is designed for emergency and recovery work after major natural disasters. Money from it can be used to restore energy, water, telecoms and transport networks, to repair health and education services, to clear affected areas and to provide temporary accommodation. The EU Solidarity Fund can also pay for rescue operations and for infrastructure that prevents future disasters and protects cultural heritage. That list explains why the EU Solidarity Fund matters to local authorities, since it is aimed at public costs, and why mayors in damaged areas follow each vote closely: it reimburses public spending on exactly the services that residents notice first when a storm hits.

The approval is not final. The full Parliament must vote on the allocation at the October plenary session, and the Council must then give its own approval before the money can be released. Only after both steps does the EU Solidarity Fund payment become a legal commitment that Rome can draw on.

The timeline is worth noting. Cyclone Harry hit in January, and the committee vote came in the second week of October, roughly nine months later. That gap reflects the EU procedure, in which a member state applies, the Commission assesses the damage and proposes an amount, and both arms of the budgetary authority then decide.

The fund itself has a long track record. Since it was created in 2002, it has disbursed more than €11 billion for 150 natural disasters in 25 member states and six accession countries. The latest package adds four more names to that list, and it arrives while the fund’s overall reach remains a frequent subject of budget debate. If Parliament and the Council follow the committee, the EU Solidarity Fund will have delivered €489 million to Portugal, Spain, Italy and Malta for storms and flooding that all struck in the first months of 2026.

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