COATIAN Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Twitter on Tuesday that he was pleased with the European Commission's decision about the advance payment of financial aid worth €88.9 million under the Solidarity Fund (EUSF) for the repair of damage caused by an earthquake that hit the Zagreb area in March.

After a well-prepared request by the government for assistance under the EU Solidarity Fund for the repair of earthquake damage in Zagreb and the surrounding area, we are pleased that the European Commission has approved an advance payment of €88.9 million, which is the highest ever EUSF advance payment, Plenkovic said.

Payment exoected in the following days

The European Commission announced the advance payment would be paid out in the next few days. In the meantime the Commission is completing its analysis of the request submitted by the Croatian authorities and will propose a final amount of aid to be approved by the European Parliament and the European Council.

The Commission underscored that these funds served to support Croatia in its efforts to help its residents and re-establish the most important infrastructure and services.

Plenkovic announced the €88.9 million advance payment in July, adding that he expects "a little more than €500 million" after that.

"Today's decision aims at alleviating the heavy burden this has had on the country and shows once again the EU solidarity in such difficult times,” underscored Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, Elisa Ferreira, on Tuesday.

The EUSF was established in 2002 as a form of financial support to EU member states after severe natural disasters. Since then, the Fund has been used for 88 disasters, supporting 24 countries with €5.5 billion, the press release said.