Andalucía wants EU to declare regional drought a 'catastrophe' and provide more aid

Juanma Moreno this week paid his sixth visit to Brussels since he became president of the Junta de Andalucía with an urgent goal: to explain the emergency drought situation the region is experiencing.

In his first meeting of a three-day visit, Moreno asked the vice-president of the European Commission for the European Green Deal, Maroš Šefčovič, to dip into the Solidarity Fund that the EU reserves for disaster situations.

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Moreno said the Andalusian government's aim for the visit was "to put water on the political and institutional agenda of the European Commission". After the hour-long meeting, the president of the Junta stressed that there is currently no water commissioner in the EU, nor are there specific plans for the area under discussion. "Just as Germany needs gas for its industry, we need water," Moreno said.

In order to activate the Solidarity Fund, which is intended for natural disasters, the request must be made by Spain's national government. Moreno pointed out that this is not the first time that this fund has been activated in drought situations, and cited the examples of Cyprus and Romania, where it has already been set up.