Leader of Europarliament's S&D Group Iratxe García visits flood-affected Thessaly

García toured the affected villages, spoke with locals, and said the Group would propose financial resources to address the impacts of the floods and the reconstruction of the affected regions.

The delegation's first stop was Metamorfossi, part of the Palamas municipality that was covered by floodwaters, and said the catastrophe "defied imagination." The socialist group will "fight tooth and nail for the right funding to reconstruct the life of these people, and for this to happen with all the transparency required," García noted. Among the EU resources she mentioned were the European Union Solidarity Fund (EUSF), the Cohesion Fund, and the Social Democracy Fund. However, she also underlined that besides intervening directly, the Greek government must also introduce a comprehensive policy of preventing such tragic events. Separately, in a social media post she noted, "Time for scientists and policy makers to work together."

Pasok-Kinal leader Androulakis underlined the solidarity of European socialists to the region's affected residents and business owners, a solidarity "that relates to the reconstruction of Thessaly in the long term." He said, "It is incomprehensible and revelatory of the incompetence that short-term things are not done. The collection of dead animals must take place in the morning; it has already been delayed, and we will have tragic results. It will be a health bomb for children and the elderly, throughout Thessaly." In addition, he said, a solution must be found for children to attend school, which has already started, while older people should be provided with decent living space, and called for a task force modelled on EU standards that would restore and reconstruct the affected areas.

EuroMP for Pasok-Kinal Papandreou said the visit's message was one of solidarity and immediate support, with immediate solutions, primary of which was housing, followed by managing the threat of disease from dead animals and flooding. "With our deputies, we must exert pressure so that all problems are resolved immediately; then we shall see how to move to the next step," he noted. 

García also paid a visit to Keramidi near Farkadona, and Zilefti near Trikala, where she spoke with affected livestock breeders.