To help repair the devastation caused by the October 2024 ‘DANA floods’ in Valencia, the European Commission has proposed mobilizing €945 million from the EU Solidarity Fund (EUSF) and reallocating €645 million of Spain’s cohesion policy funds through the new RESTORE mechanism—bringing total EU support to nearly €1.6 billion.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen declared, “Today, we are committing nearly €1.6 billion from European funds to support the vital work of recovery, repair, and reconstruction. This commitment reflects our determination to help Member States build greater resilience and withstand future crises.”
The EUSF will finance recovery operations such as repairing infrastructure, providing temporary accommodation, and clean-up efforts, while the RESTORE mechanism will channel reallocated cohesion funds into rebuilding roads, metro lines, health and education centers, and supporting small businesses. RESTORE also allows investments in climate mitigation and adaptation projects, with a co-financing rate of up to 95%.
Yet serious doubts remain about Spain’s preparedness. The country’s water technocrats had been warning for over a decade that the ravines—where flash floods proved most lethal—required urgent preventive works. Successive governments ignored these calls, and in 2021, the current leadership shelved proposed flood defense projects, citing new environmental standards.
The flood has also dealt a crushing economic blow. According to the Valencia Chamber of Commerce, more than 48,000 companies and nearly 45,000 self-employed residents were affected, with annual losses estimated at €53.1 billion.
