European Commission President Ursulavon der Leyen on Wednesday vowed that Italy will continue tohave the EU's support as she returned with Premier GiorgiaMeloni to the areas of Emilia Romagna devastated by last May'swave of floods and landslides that left 15 people dead andcaused billions of euros in damage.
"It is very moving to be back here in Emilia Romagna after thedevastation of the floods," said von der Leyen, who also visitedthe area with Meloni in the immediate aftermath of the deadlyextreme weather.
"What I remember most is this huge mass of mud and the enormoussolidarity of men and women helping each other.
"The EU was on your side, that is the message, and we willcontinue to be on your side.
"The cooperation has been exceptional, we have dedicated 1.2billion to this region.
"We want to help you get back on your feet and be moreresilient. We are doing that and we will do it even more".
On Wednesday Meloni thanked the Commission for coming good onthe commitments made in immediate wake of the emergency.
Italy's revised EU-funded national recovery and resilience plan(NRRP) contains a new measure worth 1.2 billion euro onreconstruction in Emilia Romagna.
Von der Leyen linked the floods to climate change caused byhuman greenhouse-gas emission.
"We see global warming and extreme weather events are even morefrequent," she said.
"We have to fight (the climate crisis) and prevent changes andthis also applies to our economies"Italy has included renewables in the NRRP and this is veryimportant.
"Italy is totally on track with the NRRP roadmap: half of thefunds have already been disbursed and this is very good news".
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