Solidarity fund for Tyrol: Municipalities should be relieved after flooding!

Solidarity fund for Tyrol: Municipalities should be relieved after flooding!

Kals am Großglockner, Österreich - On May 27, 2025, the Tyrolean state government made a pioneering fundamental decision to set up a solidarity fund, which is to be financially relieved of municipalities according to natural events. The fund, which in the future is to be filled annually with 3 to 4 million euros from municipal contributions and the state budget, aims to counteract the high costs for emergency and reconstruction measures. A federal financing is sought to further improve support. Governor Anton Mattle emphasized the urgency of quick help in an emergency, especially in view of the increasing risk of flood events.

State Councilor Josef Geisler underlined the significance of the problem, since over 150 municipalities in Tyrol have been affected by floods since 2014. The municipality of Kals am Großglockner, which has suffered several times from floods in the past ten years, has also been particularly affected, and has recently had to make massive expenses for flood protection. In 2023, Kals invested 40,000 euros in measures for torrent and avalanche construction, while the costs for immediate measures in 2018 amounted to over 150,000 euros. Since 2015, the expenses for flood protection measures have been added up to around 420,000 euros. Support from the new solidarity fund could significantly reduce these expenses.

EU aid for Austria and other states

European Commissioner Elisa Ferreira emphasized how important the solidarity fund is for aftercare and the reconstruction according to natural disasters and pointed out the need to better prepare himself in the context of climate change. Ultimately, the help must still be approved by the European Parliament and the Council of the EU before they are paid to the applicant countries.

Review of previous support

The relevance of the solidarity fund has already become clear in the past. In an earlier auxiliary measure, almost 720 million euros in EU aids were distributed to seven countries after natural disasters. At that time, Austria received 797,520 euros for support after flooding in 2021. Overall, the Eusf has mobilized over 8.6 billion euros for 130 disasters in 24 EU countries in 2002, which illustrates the situation that the EU is a decisive partner in crisis management.

The Tyrolean initiatives and EU aids together form a comprehensive strategy to support the municipalities in dealing with the challenges with extreme weather events and minimize harm. In solidarity inside and outside the national borders, the state government sees an essential measure to proactively meet future challenges.

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