Barroso bezoekt Madeira en zegt steun Europees Solidariteits Fonds toe (en)

The President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso today visited the island of Madeira to assess personally the damages caused by the storm that affected the island on 20th of February. The President expressed his condolences to the regional government and to the families of the victims. He reiterated the readiness of the European Commission to assist the national and regional authorities, namely through the use of the European Solidarity Fund i. Furthermore the President was deeply impressed by the effort of reconstruction in this short period of time, which is already showing results, thus enabling this region to remain one of the excellent tourist destinations of Europe.