EU escape clause Faradouris asks for civil protection and natural disasters and natural disasters

“Escape clauses”, that is, fiscal flexibility in EU Member States, for costs of civil protection, durability of networks and infrastructure, recruitment of firefighters and civilian personnel for the Prevention and rehabilitation, corresponding to ‘defensive clause“, He asked today Nicolas Farantouris. The proposal was submitted at the plenary session European parliament in Strasbourg, as he had announced in his speech at the Economist conference in Thessaloniki last Friday.

The MEP and a member of the budget, security & defense and environmental committees cited recent devastating fires in Greece and the rest of Europe and other natural disasters and natural disasters, totaling € 20 billion for 2024-2025.

“While Europe mourns dead from natural disasters, fires and floods, European fiscal priorities remain inverted. The EU activates “escape clauses” for “external security” and defense, but not for “internal security”, durability, prevention and rehabilitation, “the Greek MEP and University and University said in a plenary.

The ‘escape clause’ for security & defense expenditure

In July 2025, 15 Member States, including Greece, received approval to activate the national “escape clause” of fiscal rules, allowing additional defense spending up to 1.5% of GDP per year for four years.

As N. Farantouris points out, “the paradox is evident: While ‘external security’ justifies the relaxation of fiscal rules, resilience, prevention and rehabilitation, in other words the ‘internal security’ that directly threatens citizens’ lives, remains subordinate to the budgetary discipline.”

‘Prevention Economy’: Net jobs, broadcasting reduction, durability ‘

According to data submitted by N. Farantouris, every euro invested in prevention “buys” multiple savings in compensation and reconstruction. In addition, according to EU studies, prevention investment can create up to 500,000 jobs in the EU by 2050. Prevention and rehabilitation investments are investments that “pay double”: protect against risks and reduce their causes.

In his statements from Strasbourg, Nikolas Farantouris stressed: “The security of Europe is indivisible and includes both the external and internal dimension. Internal needs far exceed the framework of the EU’s multiannual fiscal framework. States need extensive public expenditure and investment to improve readiness and response potential. This option must be given by the EU. That is why I propose to activate the “escape clause” by the EU’s narrow budgetary rules, in order to give Member States the budgetary breath for public spending and investment, inter alia, to strengthen firefighters and human resources for firefighters and human resources, the adequate and timely financial support of states such as Greece and Cyprus affected by such extreme phenomena. “

🇪🇺Trasbourg: I asked ‘I’ asked ‘#clause_calcia»From the strict budgetary rules for the southern countries as Greece & Cyprus to invest in #prevention #restoration #resilience and human resources. #Safety It’s not just weapons, it’s all of the above. pic.twitter.com/0NFAVxdX1H

– Nikolas Farantouris / Nikolas Farantouris (@nfarantouris) September 9, 2025