In a document dated 8 July, the German Presidency of the EU Council suggested to the national delegations that they link the negotiations on the modification of the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD) to the ongoing negotiations on the changes brought about by the REACT-EU initiative.
On 28 May, the European Commission proposed amendment of the FEAD Regulation (Regulation 223/2014) in order to provide additional resources, until 2022, on the basis of a voluntary increase of resources by Member States, as well as a higher level of pre-financing for the rapid implementation of actions supported by the additional resources (see EUROPE 12495/3).
According to the German Presidency, FEAD is "heavily" dependent on REACT-EU, which has just amended the common provisions regulation between the structural and investment funds. The voluntary increase of FEAD resources in response to the Covid-19 epidemic, as suggested by the European Commission (Art. 6a), is only possible in accordance with REACT-EU (Art. 92b), argues the German Presidency.
National delegations are invited by the Presidency to submit their comments on the FEAD proposal before 25 August.
On the European Parliament's side, things are moving forward. The Chair of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL), Lucia Ďuriš Nicholsonová (ECR, Slovakia), will be rapporteur on the text on behalf of the European Parliament. Parliament is expected to decide on its position by the autumn. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)