Ursula von der Leyen assesses progress made in Slovenia after floods of 2023 and visits schools

Subscribe here: https://bit.ly/eudebates Accompanied by PM Robert Golob, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen visited Črna na Koroškem on Monday, a good year after the municipality was hit by devastating floods. Von der Leyen, who last year visited Črna five days after the floods, said today's visit was very emotional for her but she could see hope had returned to the town.

The EU is at your side all the way," said the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen during a visit to the sites hit by the disaster. "It is moving to return to Črna, one year after the devastating floods that struck Slovenia at its heart.

Reconstruction is currently underway, and hope has returned.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen revisited the northern town of Črna na Koroškem just over a year after the devastating floods, saying she could see hope had returned to the town.

Accompanied by Prime Minister Robert Golob, von der Leyen visited Črna five days after the August 2023 floods and again on 2 September to see progress in the reconstruction, co-funded by the EU.

She could clearly remember the devastation caused by the floods last year and extraordinary solidarity at work in their wake, saying her revisit reaffirmed that Europe stands by Črna and all those affected.

The European Commission transferred €100 million in advance payment to Slovenia from the Solidarity Fund in December last year, and proposed last week for the European Parliament and the Council of the EU to approve an additional €328 million.

Von der Leyen said the funds were largely meant for infrastructure reconstruction. Slovenia must spend them within a year and a half of approval.

She thanked Prime Minister Golob, who accompanied her just as he did 13 months ago, for his "excellent cooperation" on the Solidarity Fund arrangement, which was necessary for the efficient use of funds. She also praised the work of the Slovenian administration.

Golob too spoke of the prompt reaction of the state and the EU to the floods. "Sometimes we all wish reconstruction was faster. Unfortunately sometimes money is not the biggest obstacle," he said, pointing to paperwork instead.

However, he wants the new infrastructure to be more resilient that the one destroyed by the floods.

"I want Črna to become a really positive example for the whole of Slovenia, not only in terms of first response but also in how we rebuild it together, make it more resilient together, and also give it back not only hope, but above all a bright future."

The state had earmarked €830 million, including the €100 million from the EU, for post-flood reconstruction until July, while another €3.5 billion is to come in the next five years, mostly for water and road infrastructure and for aid to households.

Golob also thanked the municipality's leadership for the enormous work done over the past year.

Mayor Romana Lesjak was happy the Commission president and prime minister revisited, seeing it as proof the municipality has not been forgotten.

However, she would like the reconstruction to proceed faster, and hopes there will be enough funds for full reconstruction, which Črna would like to do in two years.

She said there was still a lot to be done, and that they had the biggest problems getting contractors. She would like some more work to be done on river beds and roads before winter as people are afraid of the autumn because it usually brings more rain.

The 4 August 2023 floods and subsequent landslides affected 183 of Slovenia's 212 municipalities causing €3 billion in direct damage, while the entire impact was assessed at around €9.9 billion.

Črna was among the most severely hit, having been cut off from the rest of the country for a few days as many bridges and roads were damaged in the Koroška region, with the people left without electricity, water and telephone connections.

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