(BRUSSELS) – The EU completed payments Wednesday of the EU Solidarity Fund (EUSF) assistance to tackle the coronavirus health emergency to 19 countries for a total amount of almost EUR 385.5 million.
This comes in addition to 132.7 million paid in 2020 to the Member States that requested an EUSF advance payment. 17 Member States and 3 candidate countries had requested the EUSF support: Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czechia, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Portugal, Romania and Spain; Albania, Montenegro and Serbia.
“The European Union stood together against the coronavirus pandemic and made a proof of solidarity in a difficult moment,” said Cohesion Commissioner Elisa Ferreira: “The EUSF is a clear symbol of this, giving a helping hand to countries to cope with the unprecedented health emergency, both to EU Member States and countries in the process of joining the EU.”
As part of the exceptional EU response to the COVID-19 outbreak, the scope of the EU Solidarity Fund (EUSF) was extended in March 2020 to also cover major public health emergencies.
In the context of the COVID-19 health emergency, the financial support of the EUSF finances the medical assistance, the purchase and administration of vaccines, personal protective equipment and medical devices, costs of healthcare, laboratory analyses, emergency support to the population and measures of prevention, monitoring and control of the spread of disease, thus safeguarding the public health.
Among the candidate countries that had requested EUSF support, Albania and Montenegro have received financial support at the end of 2021, while for Serbia the signature of the Delegation Agreement is ongoing, and the EUSF financial assistance is expected to be paid out soon after.
European Union Solidarity Fund support for fighting the coronavirus outbreak
