Romania's Plan to Tackle Flooding: A Closer Look

Romania is taking a big step to fight flooding. They're creating a special fund to pay for important projects. This fund will help for at least five years. It's part of a deal with the European Union to get recovery money. Floods have been really bad in Romania lately. In 2024 and this year, floods killed 10 people. They also destroyed homes and bridges. The country needs to fix dams, build bridges, and strengthen defenses. A study by the World Bank says Romania needs between 10 billion and 40 billion euros for this. But the government can't pay for everything right now. They have a big budget deficit. The environment minister said the fund will focus on high-risk areas. This will protect communities and save lives. The fund will get money from water management fees and taxes. The government will decide how much money to put in. The environment ministry missed out on 2 billion euros from the EU. This was because of delays in finishing projects. The new minister is working to reform forestry and water management. They want to meet EU targets to get the remaining funds. Some of the lost money will come from the state budget.