The main focus of investments are for the health sector - to secure personal protective equipment, finance testing and support hospitals by purchasing additional medical equipment; the business sector – by providing working capital to SMEs, facilitating digitalisation and setting up or re-designing financial instruments; and supporting people– by implementing employment retention schemes and supporting vulnerable groups.
As of 9 October 2020, the headline figures on the volume of resources mobilised are as follows:
1. Reprogramming
€4.1 billion in EU reallocations for health actions resulting in a net increase of €3.8 billion at EU level;
€8.4 billion in EU reallocations in business support resulting in a net increase of €2.2 billion at EU level;
€1.4 billion of direct support for people, including workers and vulnerable groups.
2. Financing and modified rules
EUR 7.6 billion in additional EU pre-financing was provided;
86 cohesion policy programmes have so far opted for 100% EU co-financing;
EUR 3.5 billion has been transferred between Funds and/or between categories of regions.
Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative: to mobilise all existing EU budget resources to provide financial support to Member States for their immediate response to the Coronavirus crisis and its long-term impact. This includes advancing payments, redirecting cohesion funds and assisting Member States in channelling money where is most needed as quickly as possible.
Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative Plus: The new package complements an earlier initiative by introducing extraordinary flexibility to allow that all non-utilised support from the European Structural and Investment Funds can be mobilised to the fullest. This flexibility is provided for through:
- transfer possibilities across the three cohesion policy funds (the European Regional Development Fund, European Social Fund and Cohesion Fund);
- transfers between the different categories of regions;
- flexibility when it comes to thematic concentration;
- a 100% EU co-financing rate for cohesion policy programmes for the
accounting year 2020-2021, allowing Member States to benefit for full EU
financing for crisis-related measures.
Furthermore, CRII+ provides support to the most deprived by changing the rules for the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD). For example, it will be possible to deliver food aid and basic material assistance through electronic vouchers and to provide the protective equipment, and thus lower risk of contamination. Also, it will be possible to finance measures at 100% for the accounting year 2020-2021.
