Hungary’s Viktor Orbán is skeptical that his country will receive timely help from the EU following widespread flooding across central Europe this week. “With all due respect, if we waited for Brussels to bail us out, we’d be up to our necks in water,” the prime minister said at his government’s Thursday morning press conference.

Polish Finance Minister Andrzej Domanski said on Friday a pledge worth 5 billion euros ($5.6 billion) from the European Union to help the country recover from its worst flooding in at least two decades may not be enough to cover its losses.

European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen on Thursday pledged billions of dollars in aid for Central European countries that suffered enormous damage to infrastructure and housing during the massive flooding that has so far claimed 24 lives in the region.

At least 23 people have now died in Europe's flood disaster as Austria begins planning for "years" of reconstruction and the European Union has pledged aid worth billions of euros. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Thursday visited the Polish city of Wrocław,