Commission makes additional funds available
More investment in public health to show solidarity.
UM – 04/2020
As part of urgent Commission initiatives and for the first
time ever via remote
voting, two regulations passed the European Parliament (EP) on 26 March. Their aim is to help the EU countries through
the coronavirus crisis.
New: EUSF funding for health emergencies
The proposal for a Regulation
amending Council Regulation (EC) No 2012/2002 extends the European Union Solidarity Fund (EUSF) in order to provide financial assistance to Member
States and third countries
negotiating their accession to the Union which are seriously affected by a
major public health emergency. The scope of the EUSF will be expanded to cover measures which assist the population
in health crises and to contain the further spread of an infectious disease. In
addition, advance payments for disasters are to be increased from 10% to 25% of the EUSF contribution. In addition,
the total budget for advances from the Fund is to be increased from €50 to €100 million, thus doubling the amount
of the EUSF contribution.
New: Support for SMEs during a health crisis
The aim of
an additional proposal (amending
Regulations (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013 and (EU) No 508/2014) is to launch a Coronavirus Response
Investment Initiative. The
Commission proposes the release of €8 billion of investment liquidity from the European Structural
and Investment Funds. The Commission intends to do away with a request to refund
unspent funds from advance payments for various funds this year. The
European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) will be used to help finance working capital for small and
medium-sized enterprises to enable them to respond effectively to a public
health crisis.
Based on the average co-financing rates across Member States, the additional
liquidity should trigger the release and use of around €29
billion of structural funding,
so that a total of €37
billion can be used for investments to address the consequences
of the coronavirus pandemic. To ensure funds start flowing as soon as possible,
a task force has been set up to coordinate work with the Member States.