(GermanPolicy.com) – Armin Laschet (CDU), candidate for Chancellor and Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, has called for a special session of the German Bundestag on the subject of flood relief. Legal certainty and a clear signal for the coming years are needed. That is a national task, he said. Therefore, the MPs should pass a reconstruction law, Laschet pointed out according to media reports. For the reconstruction – and to ensure that affected companies do not have to file for bankruptcy – support is to come from all over Germany.

In Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia, billions in damage were caused by the recent floods. In North Rhine-Westphalia alone, the damage amounts to double-digit billions. The same goes for Rhineland Palatinate, according to estimates. Laschet would like to have funds available for reconstruction efforts which are are uncapped. He said: “We cannot make amends for death and suffering, but after the reconstruction no city, no village, no family should be worse off than before.” A special representative is to help with efforts on site in North Rhine-Westphalia. Companies from all over Germany are to be involved in the implementation.