A pre-financing of almost 627m euros for Cyprus, Germany, Greece and Hungary under the Brexit adjustment reserve was approved by the Commission on Thursday.
These funds, which are intended to offset the effects of the UK's exit from the EU on the economies of the Member States, will be made available on the basis of each Member State's economic connection to the UK economy.
The adjustment reserve for Brexit totals € 5,4 billion. The determination of the funds that each country will receive is based on a special technical formula.
In particular, EUR 656 million will be allocated in proportion to the fish caught in the UK EEZ, 4,5 million will be allocated in proportion to the volume of trade with the UK and 274 million will be allocated in proportion to the maritime border areas each Member State with the UK.
Under today's decision, € 2022 million will be available in 435, while the remaining € 192 million in pre-financing will be available by the end of April 2023.
The funding aims to mitigate the negative impact of Brexit by supporting regions, sectors of the economy and small and medium-sized enterprises. It is also expected to contribute to job creation and protection through part-time, retraining and training programs.
"It is now up to the Member States to make the best possible use of the funding available to support regions, local communities, citizens and small and medium-sized enterprises in diversifying their activities, retaining jobs and retraining. "where necessary," said Cohesion and Reform Commissioner Eliza Ferreira in a statement.
The pre-financing amounts are gradually distributed over a period of three years and Member States may use the funds until 31 December 2023 to cover expenditure incurred and paid from 1 January 2020.
Following this decision, 20 Member States will have received the first and second tranches of pre-financing.
As noted, Brexit has had a negative impact in all Member States, with some of them and some regions, sectors and local communities being most affected.
KYPE