The Commission anounced on the 13th March its will to use all the instruments at its disposal to mitigate the socio-economic impact COVID-19 outbreak, centred on a European coordinated response.
Among these measures, the Commission decided that:
- In the coming weeks,1 billion euro will be redirected from the EU budget as a guarantee to the European Investment Fund to incentivise banks to provide liquidity to SMEs and midcaps;
- The Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative will facilitate the deployment of the European Social Fund;
- The European Globalisation Adjustment Fund could also be mobilised to support dismissed workers and those self-employed under the conditions of the current and future Regulation. Up to EUR 179 million is available in 2020;
- To relinquish this year its obligation to request Member States to refund unspent pre-financing for the structural funds. This amounts to about EUR 8 billion from the EU budget, which Member States will be able to use to supplement EUR 29 billion of structural funding across the EU;
- To extend the scope of the EU Solidarity Fund by also including a public health crisis within its scope, in view of mobilising it if needed for the hardest hit Member States. Up to EUR 800 million is available in 2020.
