STRASBOURG, France (AP) \u2014 The European Union is promising Greece more than 2 billion euros ($2.15 billion) in financial support in the wake of massive summer wildfires and ongoing floods that have caused extensive damage across central Greece.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNever, ever before has such a vast area been destroyed by wildfires. Then, floods devastated large regions of Greece,\u201d EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said at a meeting Tuesday with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Von der Leyen said 2.25 billion euros could be made available in the short term, with much of the money coming from unclaimed funds for development and agriculture projects mostly earmarked for Greece.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe should use unspent cohesion money from the last (funding) period which would otherwise be lost,\u201d she told reporters at the meeting in Strasbourg, France.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Much of the central Greek farming belt remains flooded a week after storms killed at least 15 people, while large sections of the country\u2019s main highway and rail network remain closed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI would first and foremost address the gravity of the situation at hand. Greece has over the past month endured two devastating natural disasters of historic proportions,\u201d Mitsotakis said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe fire in the region of Evros (near Greece\u2019s border with Turkey) is the largest fire in Europe\u2019s history … And we\u2019ve had the worst floods in our history. This is probably one of the most powerful storms to ever hit Europe,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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